540 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Sea, and the valley of the Danube, until they reached the western boundary 

 of the colony of their rivals, beyond the Elbe and the Alps, and spread 

 over Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and England. In Scotland 

 they again met with a small colony of Hooded Crows (which crossed over 

 from Scandinavia) ; and there, as well as in the valleys of the Elbe and the 

 Yenesay, they fraternize with their rivals and intermarry with them. 



Besides the Large-billed Crow C. macrorhyncha, which has been men- 

 tioned as inhabiting the Oriental Region, and which is divisible into three 

 races, the Carrion-Crow is represented in Australia by C. australis, which 

 differs in having the feathers of the hind neck rounded instead of pointed. 

 In America there are several species of Crows, bearing a somewhat super- 

 ficial resemblance to our bird, but distinguished by having the feathers of 

 the head and neck rounded, not lanceolate as in the Carrion-Crow. 



The haunts of the Carrion-Crow are similar to those of the Raven. 

 Like that bird, it is an inhabitant of the wildest mountain-districts, the 

 upland sheep-farms, and the rock-bo.uud shores. It is also the game- 

 keeper's bane, and takes up its residence in the thick coverts and woods 

 in those sequestered haunts which, in earlier days, so frequently resounded 

 with the hoarse croak of the Raven. 



The Carrion-Crow is one of the first birds astir in the morning. He is 

 up before the dawn ; and from that time till after sunset he appears to be 

 in one incessant search for food. His flight seems a more laborious one 

 than that of the Rook. He is not particularly a shy bird, but an extremely 

 cautious and vigilant one the result, most probably, of incessant per- 

 secution. He passes through the air on regular beat of wing, sometimes 

 slowly, sometimes with considerable velocity ; and his powers of flight may 

 be witnessed to perfection when he chases his mate through the air or 

 buffets the smaller Hawks and Gulls. Upon the ground he walks with 

 ease, like the Rook, and sometimes leaps forward, aided by his wings. 



Carrion-Crows are comparatively solitary birds ; but at times they are 

 seen to congregate in flocks, and even to associate with other birds. Many 

 of these gatherings are simply caused by the abundance of food in one 

 locality, to which all the Crows of the district will repair ; and when their 

 hunger is satisfied they separate again. At other times the birds have been 

 known to mingle with flocks of Rooks and Jackdaws, and in winter to 

 roost with them. Waterton, however, states that the Carrion-Crow is 

 sometimes gregarious in autumn and winter ; and in Siberia I found them 

 decidedly so until the breeding-season. In winter they sometimes visit the 

 newly manured fields in search of food. The call-note of the Carrion-Crow 

 is a hoarse croak, absolutely undistinguishable from that of the Hooded 

 Crow, not so loud or so harsh as the Raven's, but much more so than the 

 Rook's. It is also often heard to make many different sounds ; and its 

 call-note is uttered in various tones. 



