A HISTORY OF 
crown ; it was within the huge cup thus 
formed that the nest was placed. On 23 
March 1852 I was drawn up to the nest by 
means of a rope, and it contained three young, 
which were secured. The old ones came 
very close but did not attack me in any way. 
The young were taken home, which would 
be about a mile away, the parents, neverthe- 
less, paying them frequent visits. The 
youngsters were allowed a fair amount of 
freedom, after their wings had been clipped, 
and on more than one occasion the old ones 
came circling down upon them from a great 
height and attacked them fiercely, and when 
we went to the rescue seemed loath to retreat. 
One year the hen bird was shot whilst nest- 
ing, but the male by the following day had 
brought another mate home, whence I know 
not, as I never knew of another pair in the 
county, although I understood a pair nested 
in Beechwood Park, near Hemel Hempsted. 
The same year (that would be in 1856) they 
built in another beech tree hard by, which 
was much higher and placed in a very con- 
spicuous position. I managed to climb up to 
it and took the eggs. They added to the nest 
and occupied it a second year, and again the 
nest was robbed, when they went back to the 
old nest. How many times they were suc- 
cessful in bringing forth their brood I cannot 
say, but I am inclined to think it was not 
many, and considering how often the nest was 
harried and the old ones shot at (not always 
with the intention of killing them) it is won- 
derful how they stuck to the place. The 
ravens did no particular damage that I am 
aware of? (C. F. Woods). ‘An uncle of 
mine, long since deceased, often took the 
eggs and young of ravens at Bolnhurst and 
Keysoe Wood ; he sometimes saw several in 
company together feeding on the carcase of a 
sheep or lamb ; frequently a crow or two 
would be in their company, but had to remain 
at a respectful distance until their superiors 
had gorged sufficiently. And from informa- 
tion I have been able to gather, the raven 
probably bred at Thurleigh also, in fact 
there is little doubt that sixty or seventy 
years ago it was a very well known bird with 
us’ (A. Covington). ‘Used to breed in 
the fir trees at Allington Hill, near Little 
Barford, for twenty years or more, previous 
to 1865, or thereabouts’ (P. Addington). 
77. Carrion-Crow. Corvus corone, Linn. 
This species is fast disappearing. Fifty 
years ago it must have been a common bird 
with us, distributed generally throughout the 
county. During 1899, in which I gave the 
distribution of this bird special attention, a 
BEDFORDSHIRE 
very liberal census would not exceed more 
than twenty pairs nesting within the county. 
But a few years since it bred regularly in the 
plantations around Clapham, Ravensden and 
Thurleigh ; at Bromham in Salem’s Thrift ; 
at Stagsden, in Hanger’s Wood ; in Odell and 
Carlton Woods, and at Elstow and Harrow- 
den ; also on the island in the Biddenham 
backwaters, as well as the plantation known as 
Doctor’s Corner or Devil’s Spinney near the 
Clapham Viaduct ; but such localities know 
this bird no more. Its only remaining haunts 
of which I am aware are in the neighbour- 
hoods of ‘Turvey, Stagsden, Stevington, Brom- 
ham, Rowney Warren, Clophill, Wootton, 
Milton Bryant, Podington, Colmworth, Paven- 
ham and Leighton Buzzard. 
78. Hooded Crow. Corvus cornix, Linn. 
Locally, Royston Crow. 
Although a fairly common bird throughout 
our county, it confines itself more particularly 
to the river valleys, especially where the 
country is low-lying and open. One seldom 
fails to notice this bird along the river below 
Bedford during the winter in such localities as 
Fenlake and Goldington, and a very favourite 
haunt is the sewage farm at Newnham, 
where I have observed at times several feed- 
ing together. On the Ivel too it is of regular 
occurrence, as many as four or five having 
come under my notice in a walk from Shefford 
to Langford. It is usually alone, but, in 
many instances, its mate will be noticed not 
very far away. This bird reaches us generally 
in October and departs again in March. The 
specimens I have been able to examine in the 
flesh vary considerably in size. 
79. Rook. Corvus frugilegus, Linn. 
The rook, so frequently mis-named the 
crow, is common in all parts of the county. 
Rookeries are generally observed in the 
vicinity of houses, and the birds show a dis- 
tinct preference for the mansion to the humble 
cottage. ‘There are however a few instances 
where they seem to be more independent, 
discarding the habitation of man altogether, 
and locating their nests in the trees upon 
some of the quiet lying islands in the upper 
reaches of the river. On the other hand, one 
may count a dozen or more sites that are 
occupied for nesting purposes within the town 
of Bedford itself. Pied variations are not in- 
frequent ; cream-coloured and several albinos 
have also been obtained, 
80. Sky-Lark. Alauda arvensis, Linn. 
This bird is probably nowhere better known 
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