944 The Heron and the Crows. (omar. x1. 
tain parts of our coast all the year round. Our keepers de- 
stroy them whenever the opportunity occurs. I wonder 
that our fishermen do not destroy them also, as they feed 
upon a certain crustacean (Careinus menas) which is often 
used for bait. One would think that the crab’s shell would 
be proof against the crow; but no. He goes aloft with 
the crab, and lets it fall upon a stone or a rock chosen for 
the purpose. If it does not break, he seizes it again, goes 
up higher, lets its fall, and repeats his operation again and 
again until his object is accomplished. When a convenient 
stone is once met with, the birds resort to it for a long time. 
I myself know a pretty high rock that has been used by 
successive generations of crows for about twenty years. 
“ Besides being fond of crabs, these carrion crows are 
fond of fish, and though they are good fishers themselves, 
they seldom lose an opportunity of assailing the heron 
when he has made a successful dive. They rush at him im- 
mediately, and endeavor to seize his food from him. Early 
in the summer of 1845, while loitering about the hills of 
Boyndie, I observed a heron flying heavily along, as if from 
the sea—that rich and inexhaustible magazine of nature— 
and pursued by a carrion crow, followed at some distance 
by two magpies. They had not proceeded far when two 
hooded crows made their appearance, and quickly joined 
their black associate. The heron had by this time got into 
an open space between two woods, and it would appear that 
his enemies intended to keep him there until he had satis- 
fied their demands. During the whole time that the affray 
lasted, or nearly half an hour, they did not suffer him to 
proceed above a few yards in any way, either backward or 
forward, his principal movements being in ascending or de- 
scending alternately, in order to avoid the assaults of his 
pursuers. Having chosen their battle-ground, I crept be- 
hind a whin-bush, from whence I had an uninterrupted view 
of the whole affair. 
“The manceuvring of the crows with the heron was most 
