412 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



CORVIDAE. 



CORVUS CORAX BEHRINGIANUS Dybowski. 

 COMMANDER ISLAND RAVEN. 



After a careful study of Ravens from Copper Island and John How- 

 land Bay, East Siberia, I am unable to detect the slightest difference 

 between the birds and refer both to behringianus . The characters 

 of kamtschaticus also appear unsatisfactory. 



As Hartert suggests in Die Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna, that 

 Corvus cornx sibiricus, ussurianus, kamtschaticus, and behringianus may 

 be the same, for the characters are variable and very unsatisfactory. 

 If such is the case, the name kamtschaticus of Dybowski should be 

 used. This form is intermediate in characters but not in range, be- 

 tween cor ax and tibetanus of Hodgson. 



Corvus corax principalis from Alaska differs from our series of 

 behringianus in having a slightly more slender and less deep bill, but 

 the difference is slight; in fact it is often extremely difficult to separate 

 American from European specimens. 



The ravens seen but not taken by Koren on the Arctic coast of 

 Siberia 1914, may have been behringianus instead of sibiricus as sug- 

 gested by Thayer and Bangs (Proc. N. E. Zool. Club, 1914, 85, p. 478), 



Corvus corax principalis Ridgway. 



NORTHERN RAVEN. 



The Northern Raven was seen sparingly during the spring of 1914, at 

 Demarcation Point, their first arrival on the Arctic shore being April 

 28. After this date two or three were noted during our daily excur- 

 sions until May 21, when they disappeared, no doubt to breed back 

 in the mountains. On the north coast of Alaska they are exceedingly 

 wild, and we were unable to secure any. 



NuciFRAGA CARYOCATACTES JAPONicus Hartert. 



Two specimens in worn plumage taken at Petropavlovsk, May 19, 

 1913. They are typical japonicus, and others noted about the town 

 did not appear any darker in coloration. 



Our observations lead me to infer that the dark form kamchatkensis 



