CARRION CROW. 171 



years before, hinted at in the " Field Naturalist" (vol. i., p. 279). 

 Yet, if this surmise be correct, we should expect to find the black 

 variety in a quarter where the hooded crow is the prevailing bird. 

 Throughout the Long Island, or Outer Hebrides, for example, 

 black crows are very rarely seen, and never remain beyond a day 

 or two when they do occur; whereas, the grey crow exists in 

 thousands, and is stationary. The same remark applies to the 

 Inner Hebrides, and also to the Orkney and Shetland Islands. 

 Indeed, it is not known with certainty that the black visitors to 

 these outlying districts are in reality carrion crows : the presump- 

 tion is that, in many cases, they are rooks out of their usual line 

 of flight, as their arrival appears to depend on the weather and 

 direction of the wind. 



The pairing of the two species, if such they really are, seems to 

 have been known to Macgillivray (B. B., iii., 1840). and also to 

 Sir William Jardine (B. B., ii., 1839), who states that he had 

 repeatedly seen them breeding together, the produce being birds 

 of intermediate plumage. Again he says "In the mule speci- 

 mens, the grey parts of the back and under parts are indicated by 

 the edges of the feathers being narrowly margined with grey" a 

 state of plumage which I have not observed in any of the birds 

 of mixed breed which have come under my notice, the offspring 

 from the nest shewing dark specimens of a genuine black, and 

 others with grey markings equally decided. M. Temmiiick (B. of 

 Eur., 1815) has also the following remarks on this subject "La 

 corneille noire et la corneille mante!6e s'allierit quelquefois; ils 

 produisent des m^tis qui tiennent de 1'une et de Fautre espece; 

 ceci a lieu dans les contre"es m4ridionales et orientales de 1'Europe 

 oil la corneille noire est rare; mais on n'en trouve point d'exemple 

 dans les pays ou les deux especes sont communes." In repeating 

 the fact of such unions taking place in countries where the carrion 

 crow is rare, Mr Yarrell (B. B., ii., pp. 84 and 92) assumes that 

 the forlorn birds become mated on the principle that a grey 

 partner is better than none at all. To this suggestion I can hardly 

 assent, as I have repeatedly seen two, and even three, carrion 

 crows fighting for possession of a grey-backed one, where the two 

 kinds were flying about in equal numbers. The last encounter of 

 the kind I witnessed happened near Loch Melfort, in Argyleshire. 

 The three birds (two black and one grey) were flying in company 

 across the loch, when one of the former attacked his neighbour 



