CARRION CROW 
155 
ness and lightness, but there are some paler yet, 
and any number of varieties between the two. 
The eggs are difficult to distinguish from those of 
the Rook ; their average size is a little larger than 
the average size of the Rook's egg, and the mark- 
ings have a somewhat stronger, bolder, and more 
decisive appearance, but the only way of distinguish- 
ing them with certainty is by means of the nest 
and the parent birds. The nest is always, or 
almost always, solitary (except for old nests of 
previous years), while a solitary Rook's nest is rare ; 
the Crow's nest is chiefly lined with wool, and 
plenty of it, while the Rook rarely uses this form 
of bedding. As for the birds themselves, the 
Crows go alone, or pair by pair, the bases of their 
bills are feathered, and their note is a snarling 
" krar, krar " ; the Rook's caw is fuller and deeper 
in sound, it has a bare white patch at the base of 
the bill, and it is much more gregarious in its 
habits. The Crow has also a sinister-looking way 
of posting itself on some prominent bough with its 
shoulders hunched, and its lean, powerful head 
and bill thrust forward on the watch, in a fashion 
quite different from the Rook's honest perching 
habits. With a little observation the birds are 
easy to distinguish. 
