Tae ZooLocist—SEPremBer, 1872. 3221 
Nebbetold between fifteen and fifty; the inhabitants of Thorshavn 
alone to be excepted, as they have no ground. The Nebletold is 
to consist of one eagle, raven, or like bird of prey; one raven’s 
brood; or the bills of two crows or great blackbacked gulls. The 
Nebbetold is to be carried yearly to Thorshayn, to be counted and 
destroyed. The same law remains in force to this day, with the 
addition of Lestris catarractes being added to the proscribed list, 
on the recommendation of Svabo, in 1782, who remarked their 
plundering habits. At the present day the Nebdetold is no longer 
brought to Thorshavn, but is counted and burnt in the presence of 
the judge when he makes his annual circuit. I accompanied the 
judge to the island of Osteroe last May; when the business before 
the court had been concluded, a good-sized bag was produced full 
of bills, which were duly counted out in the presence of the judge 
by the Sysselmand : raven’s bills to the number of 46, and 526 bills 
of crows, great blackbacked gulls, and common skuas, the equiva- 
lent of 309 ravens in all, were the contents of the bag; but as there 
are 520 men in Osteroe within the prescribed age, 211 men failed 
to pay the tax; and the Sysselmand would have to collect the fine 
of four marks (about eighteen pence of our money) from each of 
the defaulters. The bills were then taken outside, placed on a pile 
of hay, and burnt in the presence of the judge, who signed a paper 
to that effect. In 1869, the last year in which the Nebbetold was 
brought to Thorshavn, it produced for the whole of the islands :— 
163 ravens, 1213 crows, 193 great blackbacked gulls, and 250 
common skuas. 
40. Corvus corone, Linn. Carrion Crow. Native name, 
Hjaltlands kraaka.—I include this bird on the authority of Herr 
Miiller, who says (‘Feroernes Fuglefauna, p. 13), “Is seldom 
seen here.” -The inhabitants do not seem to appreciate the 
difference between the carrion crow and the rook, for they have 
the same name in Feroese, which means “ Shetland crow.” 
41. Corvus cornix, Linn. Hooded crow. Native name, Kraaka. 
—The hooded crow is semi-domesticated throughout the islands. 
Impudent and voracious, you see it loitering about kitchen-doors, 
waiting for refuse that may be thrown out: it is a constant 
attendant on the fishing-boats when they return from the sea, for 
the fishermen gut and wash their fish on the rocks as soon as they 
come to shore, and the fish-offal thrown back into the water 
collects many species of birds to the banquet. There you find the 
SECOND SERIES—VOL. VII. aS 
