CHAPTER LXY, 



The Red-legged crow. 



Corviis graculus, Lin. ; Le Coracias, Buf. 



Desceiption and Chaeactee. — The Eed-legged Crow, or Chough, 

 as it is called in Devon and Cornwall, is also known to a great 

 many people as the Cornish Chough, from the fact of its 

 being frequently found on the coast of Cornwall. It is con- 

 sidered the handsomest representative of the Crow family 

 proper, being an elegant and graceful bird. It possesses a 

 restless and somewhat turbulent disposition, is of a fearless 

 nature, and is very difficult to scare. It is not so readily 

 domesticated as the Jackdaw or the Eook, and is inclined to 

 be malevolent and spiteful. 



A fully-grown specimen measures from 16in. to 17in. in 

 length, the bill being fully 2in. long, and considerably 

 curved, more particularly the upper mandible ; it tapers to a 

 sharp point at the tip, and is almost as red as vermilion 

 (not unlike a piece of bright red coral). The irides have 

 an outer and an inner circle, the former being red, and the 

 latter greyish blue ; the eyelids are red. The entire plumage 

 is of a deep purplish, lustrous black. The legs are bright red, 

 from which peculiarity the bird has derived its name. 



Habits and Beeeding. — The Eed-legged Crow is indigenous 

 to this country, but entirely localized. It frequents the coasts 

 of Devon and Cornwall, the cliffs at Dover, and parts of 

 Wales and Scotland. It has been found in Switzerland, 

 Persia, and Egypt, but is nowhere very common. Its nest, 

 built in the crevices of rocks, is similar in construction to 



