THE HOODED CROW. 113 



fruit f yr winter provision, when no fruit is to be uad abroad, is a re 

 markable instance of foresight in the bird tribe. Its nest is built ID 

 trees, and is not unlike the nest of the Blackbird and Thrush. The 

 female lays four blue eggs, but seldom hatches more than three young- 

 ones. These birds breed early in the spring. They sometimes steal 

 flesh, but never eat it, feeding principally on fruit, moss, and worms. 



THE HOODED CROW 



The Hooded Crow, otherwise called the Eoyston Crow or the Grey 



Crow, is rather a scarce bird 

 in the British Islands, 

 although scattered over 

 nearly every portion of 

 Great Britain, even includ- 

 ing Scotland. 



It is one of the winter 

 visitors to England, gene- 

 rally leaving there about 

 April, ' although it some- 

 times remains during thet 

 summer, and lyings up a 

 brood of young. Like most 

 of its congeners, it build? its 

 nest on the tops of very tal? 

 trees, such as the pine, buf 

 is also known to build on 

 precipitous rocks. It is said to use these rocks in the stead of an 

 oyster-knife, for as it is very fond of Oysters, and does not possess a. 

 knife to open them with, it must discover some other method of 

 getting at the enclosed animal. To attain this purpose, it is said 

 to seize the Oyster in its beak, soar up to a great height in the air, 

 and to let the Oyster drop from that elevation upon the hard rock, 

 when the shell is dashed to pieces, and the Crow is enabled to pick 

 out the animal with ease. 



There is but little of the usual Corvine black hue about this bird, 

 only the head, throat, wings and tail being so decorated, the remainder 

 of the bird being of an ashy grey. The length of the bird is about 

 twenty -two inches. 



OF THE OKIOLES IN GENERAL. 



THE characteristics of this tribe are, a straight, conic, sharp-pointed 

 bill ; with the mandibles equal in length, and the edges sharp and in- 

 clining inward. The nostrils are small: they are situated at the base 

 of the bill, and are partly covered. The tongue is cleft at the end 

 The toes stand three forward and one backward, and the middle OK* 

 is joined near the base to the outer toe. 



