306 M. Sundevall on the Birds of Calcutta, 



Long. 16$ poll. Ala 260 mill., tarsus 43, rostrum e fronte 44, 

 altit. 18, cauda 178. Iris nigrofusca. Rostrum magnum, ut Coracis, 

 sed compressius ; dorso elevato, carinato, compresso, valde arcuato. 

 Seta? narium vix ad medium rostri extensse. Plumee corporis basi 

 alba?. Cauda leviter rotundata, alas longe superans. <$ paullo major 

 et nitidior quam $ . 



In most respects this species forms a connecting link between 

 the Grey Crow and the Jackdaw. The colours resemble both : 

 the form of the body, of the neck and head, are those of the 

 Crow ; the activity of the movements comes nearer those of the 

 Jackdaw; but the beak is much larger and more compressed 

 than in either, most like the Raven's. 



Corvus splendens is very common about Calcutta during the 

 whole year. Evening and morning it is seen in flocks, which 

 roost at night in trees, commonly in company with Gracula 

 tristis. They have their common abode on the road between 

 Calcutta and Fort William, and make a terrible noise. The note 

 is a short, guttural, but not rough, grah, grah, quite unlike that 

 of our species. The usual food consists of various refuse, also 

 fish, crabs, &c, which are left dry by the ebb-tibe, but especially 

 of the innumerable dead bodies which daily float in the river and 

 are cast upon its banks. They share this booty with the Vultures 

 and Ciconia Argala. When these more mighty rivals are pre- 

 sent, the crow is often obliged to quit his place ; but one may 

 often see him, when driven off by some vulture, hop up with the 

 true naivete of a jackdaw on to the back of the mighty bird, and 

 from this elevation look around for some other place where he 

 can get a share in the feast undisturbed. One often sees a crow 

 sailing by upon a corpse floating in the river, on which it is feed- 

 ing voraciously. The nests are built of twigs in trees, both near 

 the trunk and among the smaller branches. They are without 

 roofs, and resemble those of the raven. In the month of March 

 I saw a pair build in the mainmast of a dismantled ship. There 

 were five eggs in the nest which I discovered in the beginning 

 of May, in colour, spots, and size like those of the jackdaw (their 

 mean length was 37 millim.), but they show rather greater mu- 

 tual differences in form and intensity of colour, as is common 

 among the crows. They appeared mostly to lay their eggs in 

 April and May, but already on the 4th of April there was seen a 

 nearly full-feathered young one which had just left the nest. 

 The Bengal name is Khaa (both a's pronounced separately) . The 

 Musselmans call it Gawa (the w as in English). 



38. Corvus encat Horsf., Wagler. Totus niger plumis basi cine- 

 reis ; cauda subsequali, alas longe superante. Plumse juguli medii 

 lanceolatoe nitidae, apice bifida;. Rostrum maximum, compressum, 



