332 THE HOODED CROW. 
stances of a warm kind for the eggs and young. It is placed in various 
localities, generally in buildings or rocks, but has often been found in hollow 
trees and even in the holes of rabbit warrens, the last-mentioned locality 
being a very remarkable one, as the young birds must be in constant danger 
of marauding stoats and weasels. In one instance a quantity of broken 
iass was employed in the foundation of the nest. The Jackdaw is not 
choice in the selection of feathered neighbours, for I have found in the same 
tower the nests of pigeons, jackdaws, and starlings, in amicable proximity 
to each other. The eggs are smaller and much paler than those of the rook 
or crow, but have a similar general aspect. Their number is about five. 
THE RoysTON Crow, or HOODED CROW, or GREY CROW, is a very 
conspicuous bird, on account of the curiously pied plumage with which it is 
invested, 
This bird is not very common in England, but is plentifully found both in 
Ireland, Scotland, and the Scottish isles, having been seen in large flocks of 
several hundreds in number on the east coast of Jura. Generally it is not 
very gregarious, the male 
and female only being found 
in company; but it some- 
times chooses to associate 
in little flocks of fifteen or 
sixteen in number. It seems 
to prefer the sea-coast to 
any inland locality, as it 
there finds a great variety of 
food, and is not much ex- 
posed to danger. I haveoften 
seen these birds in the Bay 
of Dublin, perched upon the 
rocks at low water, and 
searching for food among 
the dank seaweed and 
in the rock puddles that 
are left by the retreating 
ROYSTON, OR HOODED CROW.— (Corvus cornix) tide. They seemed always 
extremely bold, and would 
permit a very close approach without exhibiting any alarm. The banks of 
the Medway between Rochester and Sheerness are much frequented by the 
Hooded Crow. 
The Hooded Crow never breeds in society, but always builds its nest at 
some distance from the homes of any other of the same species, so that, 
although a forest or a range of cliffs may be inhabited by these birds, the 
nests are scattered very sparingly over the whole extent. ‘The structure of 
the nest is somewhat similar to that of the crows and rooks, being a mass 
of sticks and heather stalks as a foundation, upon which is placed a layer of 
wool, hair, and other soft substances. Sometir.es the bird builds a better 
and more compact nest with the bark of trees ; and in all cases this species 
breeds very early in the season. ; 
The Hooded Crow is boldly and conspicuously pied with grey and black, 
distributed as follows :—The head, back of the neck, and throat, together 
with the wings and tail, are a glossy bluish black, while the remainder of the 
body is a peculiar grey, with a slight blackish wash. 
WHO does not know the MAGPIE, the pert, the gay, the mischievous ? 
What denizen of the country is not familiar with his many exploits in the 
way of barefaced and audacious theft, his dipping flight, and his ingenuity in 
