. Birds of the British Empire. Birds. 6o BIRDS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. and the crows especiall}^ are often to be seen on the sea-shore searchincf for offal cast up by the waves, or for molluscs and crabs left there by the recedincf tide. Like the raven, they are very easily tamed, and will live a long time, and breed in confinement. Hooded Crow.—Many naturalists are of opinion that this bird is merely a local variety of the last, and assert that the two interbreed and produce a fertile offspring, not piebald, but exactly resem- bling one or other of the •^ ^ parents. If that be so, then ^->
. Birds of the British Empire. Birds. 6o BIRDS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. and the crows especiall}^ are often to be seen on the sea-shore searchincf for offal cast up by the waves, or for molluscs and crabs left there by the recedincf tide. Like the raven, they are very easily tamed, and will live a long time, and breed in confinement. Hooded Crow.—Many naturalists are of opinion that this bird is merely a local variety of the last, and assert that the two interbreed and produce a fertile offspring, not piebald, but exactly resem- bling one or other of the •^ ^ parents. If that be so, then ^-> there can be no doubt as to their s])ecific identity. The bill, head, and neck of the hooded crow are black ; the back, breast, and lower \)a,vis dark slate grey; but the wings and tail are black, with a brifrht blue tinue. In size this bii'd equals the carrion crow^ which it closel}' re- sembles in its habits. Rook. — The well-known rook is one of the " common objects " of the country, nor is it even unknown in towns— witness the colonies that still maintain their ground in several parts of London. It is of a bluish black colour all over, and is known by a bare circle round its bill, where the skin is of a dull earthy colour, and much wrinkled or corrugated, a peculiarity that w^as long supposed to be due to the bird's habit of constantly digging in the ground for worms and j^rubs, as the nestlings have feathers in the same ii. y /(' lluodtd CroH\. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Greene, W. T. , Dr. London : Imperial Press
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1898
