Bircfs. 9761 



shows ono sittiiif? upon iho roclvS, it is sure to be lost among the 

 crowd as soon as it takes wing, 



Sfiaff. — Nearly all the old shags have paired and are to be seen 

 sitting up in their nesting-places. The brilliant metallic-looking green 

 and bronze of their plumage presents a superb appearance in the sun- 

 light. 



Haven. — Many ravens are now sitting,but some have already hatched. 

 Althougi) the amount of damage they commit is still quite suflicicnt 

 to raise every hand against them, I am told that in this neighbourhood 

 they are not so mischievous as they were some years ago. At that 

 lime their cunning and voracity had caused such serious losses among 

 the live stock, that Dr. L^dmoudston devised a vcMy efleetual nictliod 

 of checking ihem, and accordingly destroyed a whole family, by 

 poisoning the carcase of a lamb and lowering it over the face of a clifF, 

 near the nest of one very old and exceedingly wary cou])le. Tlie 

 immediate and almost entire C(!ssatioM of the nuisance proved that his 

 sus|)icions as to llu; ringleaders had not been misplaced. Young pairs 

 are less destructive, and being less cunning are far easier to shoot, but 

 the old on(!s tiuu' their visits to the farm-yards so aecinvUely and exer- 

 cise such caution that to kill one is considered quite a iea(. Occa- 

 sionally, however, their prudence overreaches its object. A friend of 

 mine, wishing to destroy one oftliese birds, set a rat-gin nc^ar its haunts 

 and covered it carefully with (iu(! mould, leaving nothing but the bait 

 exposed. But the bird was not to be thus deceived ; he would walk 

 round the trap, and even hover above it as though about to make the 

 fatal i)Ounce, the demonstration invariably resulting in his retiring to 

 a small hillock close at hand, from which he seemed to fancy he could 

 eye the tempting morsel in safety. This state ol' tilings lasted for 

 two days, when my friend slyly buried the trap in the hillock, neatly 

 covering it with moss, but leaving the bait in its old place. Scarcely 

 had he left the spot when the raven came circling over the bait, and 

 immediately afterwards, alighting upon the hillock to reconnoitre, was 

 instantly caught by the feet. 



Hooded Crow. — I observed some hooded crows repairing their 

 nests early in April. Like the raven, Ihey will occupy the same nest 

 for many years in succession, if not disturbed. One pair, which is 

 easily known by the broken leg of the male, has built regularly among 

 the rocks at Swinee-ncss for uj)vvards of twenty years, not always, 

 however, selecting the same spot for their nest, in consequence of the 

 frequency with which it has been robbed. 



VOL. XXIII. 3 C 



