HOODED CROW 
Corvus cornix 
Head, throat, wings, tail, beak, and legs black, with a 
gloss of purple or green on most of the feathers; remainder 
of plumage grey, eyes dark-brown. Total length, 18 inches. 
A vERY common bird throughout Egypt. It seems 
strange that this should be the only Crow—the pure 
black one has never been noticed—and if any black 
crow-like bird is noticed it will probably be found 
to be the Raven. Shelley says, “It begins breed- 
ing towards the end of February, when its nest 
may be procured in every clump of sont trees,” * but 
I have seen young ones with their parents flying 
about in early February, which would mean they 
must have been hatched much earlier, and it would 
therefore seem certain that they rear two broods 
in the year. It does not seem here to have quite 
the same character that it has elsewhere—it is less 
aggressive, tamer, not such a highwayman-robber 
sort of bird—and though it is so common I cannot 
ever remember to have seen a flock of them 
together in the real open country, they seem to 
1 The term ‘sont trees” in Egypt is applied to acacia trees, 
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