GREY CROW. 
courus coumx. 
I * ® 7 C /“ W 18 ? Per “ reSiaent “ alm ° st «»7 P-‘ of ‘ho Highlands that I am acquainted with 
It IS allowed to nest occasionally m some of the southern counties of Scotland ; hut I have not (with certainty) 
observed it breeding further south than Perthshire. In England it is likewise reported to remain at 7m! 
during summer in certain districts on the north-east coast. Some years ago I watched a pair or two that 
aZTril m0MS 7 Ck f Sle “ S “ th ° neiShb0Urh00d ° f Whitb y ; bt “ this is a11 ‘ho information I am 
able to give on my own authority. 
tot, T 7 ZTu USU f y arrives 0a the east ooast of En S land the middle of October, the 7th 8th 
s 7 , t 7® ! S °“ WMCh 1 haVe Witt ^ h““ed or on the p ll 
No7i 7:77! in ^ 1 ^ ““ *“ — 1 «rs in the 
Wirt 1 ” "Thf! 8 *! the , Highland8 thes ° birds oooasionally desert their quarters on the lull-sides during 
winter, and betake themselves to the vicinity of the farm-yards and the low grounds. On the slmres of 7e 
firths and the lochs in the neighbourhood of the coast, they may at this season be found in great numbers- 
but I am ignorant whether these birds are migrants from the North Sea, or only visitors from inland gta 
atti acted to the shore by the prospect of more abundant prey. 
In the south Grey Crows generally frequent the sea-coast, living on the dead fisli or any decomposing 
remains that may be east up by the tide. When more substantial food is scarce, tliov also manage at ttaes to 
korf fh T S l “ ° f mUS8eIS ’ C0Ckl0S> “ ud other smaU shdls the y are able to pick up along the 
litter washed °u°n!n the! 7“’ 7 ‘T bl '° adS “ ““ eaSt rfSaMk - on. after another ov7 the 
ItLrs Is l as a a d “ d ™ mded bMs «> a ‘ have escaped from the 
77 f i, , , 7 , Was dlSC0Vered ’ the making and screaming of those near at hand would bring the 
ho8te: and> Hvins ° r dead ’ ““ **- -> d 
These troublesome pests have frequently destroyed fowl I knocked down before there was a chance to 
7th-s 7 S ' LaS ° C0Urred rdpeatedly “ a11 P arts of the oountry ; Imt the most wholesale robbery 
of this description was perpetrated in the east of Ross-shire. While gunning on Loch Slyn ono stormy day 
unng the wmter of 1868, I succeeded in making (more by good luck than management) a heavy shot at 'a 
rge flock of Ma lard as they rose from a bank on which they had been resting. Owing to the long heather 
at grew round the shores of the loch, we experienced considerable difficulty in collecting the cripples many 
the wounded crawling into the thick cover before we were able to gather up those nearest at hand Not 
expecting any use for a dog (it was blowing a gale of wind), I had left my retriever at a farm by the loch 
side and consequently failed to secure several disabled birds that could never have escaped the nose of that 
infallible quadruped. An hour or so later I remarked a large party of Grey Crows, numbering in all at least 7ty 
