2i: RURAL BIRD LIFE. 



footsteps greet her ear ; though if the intruder be one of 

 her natural enemies she will fight fiercely in defence of 

 her eggs. \Mien the young are hatched the Carrion 

 Crow, made bold by their incessant clamouiii^ for 

 food, pays frequent \-isits to the poultry' j"ard, and 

 carries off the Chickens and Ducklings, on which to feed 

 them. If a Pheasant or Partridge be drix'en from her 

 nest \\-ithout opportunitj* of covering her e^s, they are 

 often spied out by the Carrion Crow, and borne otT one 

 by one in his strong bill. The young are soon aban- 

 doned by their jKurents after gaining the use of their 

 w-jigs, and these again probably sepkarate until the 

 following season bids them seek the company of a 

 mate. 



The Carrion Crow is an early riser, sometimes being 

 abroad before the Rooks, and long before sunrise, and 

 when the gray streaks of morning appear in the sky his 

 harsh and discordant cr\- is heard as he winnows his way 

 through the air from his roosting place to the distant 

 feeding grounds. This bird is one not ver\- particular as 

 to the choice of his food. He will eat almost anj-thing. 

 from an insect to an acom ; from the helpless chicks to 

 the feeble wounded hare or rabbit ; from a it\-ing mouse 

 or rat to the most noisome carrion. Judging from his 

 somewhat varied tastes, the Carrion Crow is a bird sadly 

 persecuted by the gamekeeper and henwife. Yet withal 

 his sen-ices could ill be spared, as he is one of Nature's 

 greatest sca\engers, and his few little failings are amply 

 repaid by the good he undoubtedly performs. I also 

 think the wooded districts and tlie wild, the inland moor 

 and the rocky coast, are greatly enhanced in beautj^ by 

 the bold, yet war}-, prying, active, and graceful Carrion 

 Crow. 



