32 BIRDS IN LONDON 



CHAPTEE III 



THE CABKION CROW IN THE BALANCE 



The crow in London — Persecuted in the royal parks — Degrada- 

 tion of Hyde Park — Ducks in the Serpentine : how they are 

 thinned — Shooting a chicken with a revolver — Habits of the 

 Hyde Park maUard — Anecdotes — Number of London crows 

 — The crow a long-lived bird; a bread-eater — Anecdote — 

 Seeks its food on the river — The crow as a pet — Anecdotes. 



The carrion crow has probably always been an 

 inhabitant of the central parks ; at all events it 

 is well known that for a long time past a pair 

 bred annually in the trees on the north side of 

 the Serpentine, down to within the last three 

 years. As these birds took toll of the ducks' 

 eggs and ducklings when they had a nest full of 

 ravenous young to feed, it was resolved that 

 they should no longer be tolerated ; their nests 

 were ordered to be pulled down and the old 

 birds shot whenever an opportunity offered. 

 Now it is not the Hyde Park crows alone that 

 will suffer if this policy be adhered to, but the 

 London crows generally will be in danger of 



