Passeres 93 



coloration is red. They are laid very early in the 

 north, but often later from the Border Country to 

 south-west England. This fine glossy black bird is still 

 fairly abundant in northern Scotland, on the Welsh 

 coast and in Ireland ; abroad it breeds throughout 

 Europe, northern Asia and North America, but other 

 species or races take its place in Africa. The flight is 

 powerful but slow, and both sexes tumble in the air, 

 generally in the neighbourhood of the nest ; the note 

 is a harsh barking sound, the food is of all descriptions, 

 including weakly lambs, small mammals, birds, eggs, 

 and carrion. 



The Carrion Crow (C. corone) and the Grey or 

 Hooded Crow (C. comix) may be considered together, 

 for the latter is little more than a grey-backed and 

 grey-breasted race of the former, which interbreeds with 

 it where their ranges overlap. Many migrants arrive in 

 autumn, and do not all leave us in winter. In Britain 

 the black bird reaches from the south to about mid- 

 Scotland, but the particoloured bird is almost confined 

 in the breeding season to the north of the Firth of 

 Forth, the Isle of Man, and Ireland, while it also has 

 a more northerly and south-easterly range in Europe. 

 This, however, must be taken as a very rough state- 

 ment, as a great amount of overlapping takes place, 

 and both forms extend to northern Asia, while even in 

 Britain nests may be found down to the Scottish 

 borders. Rooks are often called Crows, but the true 

 Crows have a decidedly harsher voice and are, if any- 

 thing, more difficult to approach ; they are notorious 

 egg-stealers and destroy much young game, but they 

 feed also on other small birds and mammals, on carrion, 

 insects, and fish, when they can catch it. They are 



