Early in the spring the old nest—a mass of sticks, driftwood, seaweed, and heather, warmly lined with wool and rabbit fleck—will be repaired, and at this season the male is magnificent to watch as he courts his mate in beautiful aerial flight. Early in March the eggs, three to five in number, are laid; they are bluish, densely speckled and blotched with olive brown. The female takes sole charge of the duties of incubation, while her mate, sitting near, keeps close watch and attacks with great boldness and fury any other feathered marauder. Too often, however, their labours are in vain and man steps in and destroys the nest; but ever faithful to the old home, many pairs continue ineffectually to breed year after year near the same spot, till at last in their old age they succumb to some winter’s storm and the spot is the poorer by the loss of one of our noblest birds. After the young are fledged they remain with their parents for some months, till they are eventually driven out to make way for the new brood of the following year. The adult is of a deep, glossy, blue black. The female and young only differ from the male in having less lustre on their plumage. Length 25 in.; wing 17 in. THE CARRION CROW Corvus corone, Linnæus With every man’s hand against it, the Carrion Crow, which as a scavenger might well be one of our most useful birds, leads a harassed existence. Singly or in pairs it wanders about the country, feeding on anything that comes in its way. Carrion is its chief delight, but in default of that it turns its attention to weak and sickly birds, mice, rats, etc., and, as is the case with other members of the Crow family, it does quite as much good by destroying vermin as it does harm by destroying eggs and young birds.