THE HOODED CROW 



CORPUS CORNIX 



LOCAL names in surrounding counties : " Grey Crow," 

 " Grey-back," " Hoody," " Dun Crow " (Essex). 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : A common and widely 

 distributed resident in Scotland and Ireland, but a winter 

 visitor only to England and Wales, instances of its breed- 

 ing being most exceptional. Vast numbers visit our islands 

 in autumn from the Continent. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION wiTniN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : A century ago the Hooded Crow is said to have 

 been a very common bird near London. It is like a good 

 many other species that once were common here but now 

 only remain as traditions, such as the Kite, for instance, 

 which in the days of long ago performed much of the 

 scavengering of the streets. It is difficult to assign any 

 reason for the comparative scarcity nowadays of the Hooded 

 Crow within the Metropolitan area. Whether the species 

 ever bred regularly near the Metropolis appears to be 

 unknown. Certainly it never does nest now, and can 

 only be regarded as a rare winter visitor, occurring at odd 

 times and places, stragglers, apparently, from further north 

 and east, where the bird is a commoner one at that season. 

 It is said to be observed almost every winter on Wimbledon 

 Common, and is also a regular if scarce wanderer to the 

 Epping district. I have no records of this species from any 

 of the urban parks or squares, although it is by no means 

 improbable that the bird occasionally visits these spots. 



The traveller by rail on any of the north-bound trains 

 from the Metropolis is sure to see the Hooded Crow here 

 and there in the fields an hour or so's run from town, 

 between the months of November and February. These 

 birds are winter migrants, part of the vast hordes of 

 Hooded Crows that cross the North Sea every autumn 



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