"The Hoody breeds in maritime cliff's." 



THE HOODY, OR GREY CROW 



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" 



HIS bird is chiefly known 

 in England through Con- 

 tinental specimens that 

 arrive on the East Coast 

 in October, and scatter 

 themselves over the coun- 

 tryside to spend the winter 

 searching for any kind of 

 food that our less rigorous climate may 

 afford them. I have never met with 

 it breeding in either England or Wales, 

 although in Ireland, the Isle of Man, 

 and parts of Scotland it practically takes 

 the place of the Carrion or Black Crow. 

 Where these two winged scavengers 

 meet in their geographical range, both 

 in the United Kingdom and on the 



Continent, they will interbreed. Taking 

 this fact, their structural identity, and 

 similarity of habits into consideration, 

 many naturalists regard the Hoody 

 only as a variety of the Carrion Crow, 

 and not entitled, therefore, to any kind 

 of specific distinction. 



The beak and legs of the Royston 

 Crow as the Hoody is sometimes 

 called are jet black ; head, throat, 

 wings, and tail shining blue-black ; 

 whilst the nape, back, and under- 

 parts are of a dark slaty-grey colour. 

 Whether in flight or at rest its bold 

 parti-colours render it easily distin- 

 guishable, almost at any distance. 



I have generally found that the Hoody 



