138 BIRD GALLERY. 



from eight to twenty feet from the ground on a branch or in a high 

 bush. The nest is open at the top and constructed of short twigSj with 

 a lining of fine roots and grass. The eggs, from four to seven in 

 number, are greenish-grey, speckled with olive-brown. 



Norfolk : nest with eggs, May ; young birds, June. 

 Presented by Lord fValsingham. 



No. 3. NUTCRACKER. (Nucifraga caryocatactes.) 



A native of the pine-clad regions of Europe and Siberia, and a very 



irregular autumn-visitor to Great Britain, about twenty occurrences 



having been recorded. Large flocks are sometimes formed in the 



autumn, when considerable migrations take place in search of food, 



and stragglers occasionally reach our shores. The nest, which was 



placed in the fork of a spruce-fir tree about fifteen feet from the ground, 



is not roofed over, but half-domed nests are occasionally found. The 



eggs vary from two to five in number, and are pale bluish-green spotted 



with ash-brown. 



Hungary, April. 



Presented by C. G. Danford, Esq. 



No. 4. ROOK. (Trypanocorax frugilegus.) 



A common resident and generally distributed over the wooded and 

 cultivated districts of the British Islands. Gregarious in its habits, 

 this bird breeds in large companies, resorting early in spring to the 

 same " rookery " year after year. The nests are generally placed on 

 the tops of tall trees in the neighbourhood of houses and constructed of 

 sticks and twigs, lined with rootlets, wool, etc. From four to six eggs 

 are laid, and resemble those of the Hooded and Carrion Crows. The 

 food consists chiefly of insects and their larvae ; but in dry seasons, 

 when these are scarce, the nests of other birds are systematically robbed 

 of their eggs. 



Bedfordshire : nest with eggs, 18th April ; young birds, 13th May. 



Presented by Admiral Mark Pechell. 



No. 5. CARRION-CROW. (Corvus corone.) 



Distributed throughout England, but local and rare in the north 

 and west of Scotland and in Ireland, where the Hooded Crow takes 

 its place. The two species not infrequently interbreed. The nest, 

 composed of sticks and warmly lined with wool, is generally placed 

 on a tree or ledge of rock commanding a wide outlook. The eggs 

 closely resemble those of the Rook and Hooded Crow, and are lour 



