BLACK CHOW. 
3 
As I have never yet had an opportunity of rearing any of these hybrids and keeping them in confinement 
lor any length of time, I am unable to give an opinion on the subject. 
Though I have frequently observed the Grey or Hoodie Crow, at the time of migration, in the act of 
making the passage of the North Sea, I was never able positively to identify the Black Crow. From the crews 
o the light-ships oir the east coast I could gather but little information concerning them. It is probable that 
a few, at all events, reach this country during the autumn, as I recognized a bird of this species on board a 
fishing-boat a short distance off Yarmouth, and the skipper informed me it had flown on board that morning ' 
The Black Crow is to be met with in many parts of the British Islands ; and I have spent a considerable 
amount of time m studying their habits; but in no single instance have I ever noticed them nesting (even 
where one was mated with a Grey Crow) except on trees or bushes. I mention this fact, as I believe it is 
reported by some writers that their manner of breeding corresponds with that of Grey Crows, whose nests as 
° ten as not > are P laccd on » cliff or an inland precipice. I have of course not the slightest wish to question 
these statements; I merely describe the habits of the birds as I have witnessed them. The nest is a lar-e 
and coarse structure. The outside materials vary according to the locality, the birds making use of 
whatever sticks and twigs they find easiest to collect. Heather-stalks and roots, together with branches of 
uc 1 01 n, aie largely used in the Highlands. Nests that I have examined in the southern and eastern 
counties were composed of dead twigs of the trees that grew nearest at hand. The remains of an old nest that 
ms been occupied in former years is often resorted to and patched up. The interior is warm and comfortable 
being lined with sheep’s wool, hair, dried strands of fine grass, or any soft material. 
I was particularly struck by the depth and warmth of the interior of the cradle that a pair of Crows (one 
aek, the other Grey) had prepared for their anticipated brood. The nest was placed on the topmost branches 
of a lofty tree overhanging a hill-burn that dashed down the mountain-side through a rift or chasm in the solid 
roc . Both parents having been shot within an hour of one another, the nest was now untenanted ; and I was 
anxious to remove it, so that it might no longer attract any wandering Crow to the spot. To reach it by 
climbing was decidedly risky, even if practicable. The branches of the tree on which it was built stretched 
ovei ic gorge at an angle that looked excessively dangerous; and it appeared that, to take the nest, the whole limb 
would need to be sawn oil. Before commencing this somewhat arduous undertaking, I resolved to attempt to 
cut it down by means of a rifle-bullet. The main branch, that sustained the nest, was not less than from two to 
nee inches in diameter immediately below the structure; but having found a convenient rest for the rifle 
the operation was completed far more rapidly than I had anticipated. The first shot cut away a considerable 
por ion of the supporting limb ; and the second having smashed the remainder, the nest and the surrounding 
twigs dropped at once. Being caught, however, by a lower arm of the tree, it needed a third shot to brin" 
it to the ground. The eggs, which were partly incubated, had fallen out and smashed among the rocks" 
n hue examining the materials with which the nest was composed, I discovered the remains of the shell of 
e egg of a Ring-Ouzel still adhering to some of the sticks. This had probably been brought as food to the 
emale while sitting. The situation chosen by this pair of Crows was particularly suitable to the requirements 
of these evcr-watchful and rapacious birds. From the upper branches of the tree an uninterrupted view could 
be obtained of the wild and rocky glen, rendering an undetected approach to their quarters almost impossible- 
w i e t e steep and rugged banks of the burn (concealed in several parts by long and rank heather) inveigled 
many an unfortunate sheep to its doom, affording, consequently, an almost inexhaustible supply of food. ° It 
was seldom, if ever, that I passed the spot without noticing a carcass or two of highly scented mutton slowly 
ccomposmg in some quiet pool, or firmly wedged between the stones that formed the rocky bed of the torrent, 
was gieatly amused one spring at the horror expressed by a stranger to the district (more used to paved 
ootways than mountain-sides), who persisted in indulging in a copious draught of the sparkling waters of this 
identical stream. Weary and utterly fagged out by the unusual exertion, he made his way to the side of the 
