THE GROUSE AND ITS ENEMIES 53 



' vermin ; ' there can be no two opinions about that. 

 In Norway, I know, the hooded crow is pretty omni- 

 vorous. So he is in Scotland, out of the breeding 

 time. In winter he will eat corn, or kill field voles, 

 or gorge himself on stinking fish on the seashores 

 But the black and hooded crows are dire enemies of 

 sitting grouse. They carry the eggs away to the rock, 

 near their nest, and the amount of mischief they do is 

 incalculable. An acquaintance of mine saw three 

 ' hoodies ' attack a young grouse. He was a fine 

 bird, and could fly a little, but he could not withstand 

 the attack of three of the black rascals. A few sharp 

 blows upon the back of the head soon disabled him, 

 and placed him at the disposal of his cowardly assail- 

 ants. There is no worse pest in Scotland than the 

 hooded crow. The carrion crow is as mischievous, 

 but its visits to the grouse's home are more irregular. 

 Much as I dislike the use of poison, I think it should 

 be employed in the extermination of hooded crows, 

 provided only that the eggs which have been 

 ' doctored ' with strychnine be placed in a forked 

 branch, or in a crag of the rocks to which no four- 

 footed animal is likely to penetrate. The careless use 

 of poison almost amounts to criminality. Only a few 

 years ago, a fine golden eagle was killed by poison in 

 a curious way. A neighbouring keeper had prepared 



