2 CORVID.E. 



of these Crows before the water boils. Once, at Hea\itree Gap, a Crow seized a piece of meat 

 from tlie table while the cook was at work. At Hermannburg-, over thirty of them were within 

 gunshot at one time, waiting for the refuse from the birds I was skinning." 



The following observations" w-ere also made by Mr. Keartland while he was a member of 

 the Calvert Exploring Expedition in Western Australia in 1896-7: — "During the early part of 

 our journey, the Hazel-eyed Crows ( Corvus coronoides) were fre(]uently observed, but as the hot 

 weather set in, in October, they became scarce, and were afterwards found only in the vicinity 

 of water, so that to us at least they ceased to be birds of evil omen. In December, and the 

 first week of January thev were very numerous around our camp near the junction of the 

 Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers in Xorth-w-est Australia, and united with the Kiti s (Milxus 

 affinis) in performing the duty of scavengers. During the heat of the day they might be seen 

 either perched or flying with their bills wide open, show-ing that they too suffered from the 

 scorching sun." ^Ir. Keartland also writes me: — "They drink frequently and are regarded as 

 good water guides. I often saw them at the troughs and caught one in a Finch-trap baited with 

 water. Just before the tropical rains fall they are at constant feud with the Channt-l-bil'ed 

 Cuckoo (Scythrops ncnw-hoilandicB). As soon as the rain came, the Crows all left, and were not 

 seen again up to the time of our departure on the i6th March." 



The nest of the Hazel-eyed Crow is a large open bowl-shaped structure, outwardly formed of 

 sticks and twigs, and lined inside with bark, fibre, hair, fur, or wool, an average one measuring 

 externally fifteen inches in diameter by seven inches and a half in depth, and the inner cavity 

 six inches in diameter by four inches in depth, It is usually built in the upright forked leafy 

 branches of a tree at a height varying from twenty to seventy feet from the ground. The 

 bushy tops of the different species oi Eucalyptus, Frene/a, and Melaleuca, are generally resorted 

 to as nesting-sites, and frequently several nests may be found in the same tree. The deserted 

 nests of the Hazel-eyed Crow, like those of the Ra\en, and of many birds of prey, are frequently 

 taken possession of by other species. 



The eggs are usually from three to five in number for a sitting. In shape they vary from 

 oval to elongate oval, some specimens being compressed towards the narrower ends; the shell, 

 as a rule, is close-grained, and its surface smooth and slightly lustrous. The ground colour 

 varies from very pale to bright green, and from pale ashy-blue to greenish-grey, which is 

 freckled, spotted, or blotched with wood-brown, blackish-brown, or oli\e-brown, the markings 

 as a rule predominating on the larger end, where a well defined zone or cap is sometimes 

 formed. Some specimens have very fine indistinct scratches or smears of pale umber 

 uniformly distributed over the shell ; as a rule, however, the markings, whether large or- 

 small, bold or indistinct, are irregularly formed, but, in rare instances, examples 

 may be found in which they consist entirely of rounded dots or spots. The eggs of 

 the Hazel-eyed Crow, like those of the Ka\en, are subject to considerable variation in 

 colour and the disposition of their markings, and the eggs of both birds are indistinguish- 

 able from each other. A set of four measures as follows: — Length (A) 1-71 x 1-23 inches; 

 (B) 173 X 1-23 inches; (C) 1-74 x 1-25 inches; (D) i-8 x 1-25 inches. Another set of four 

 measures (A) 1-9 x 1-27 inches; (B)i-88xi-3 inches; (C) i-86xi-28 inches; (D) 1-85 x 1-25 

 inches. 



Young birds may be distinguished by their duller and browner plumage, the wing and 

 tail feathers being the last to acquire the rich gloss of the adult li\ery. 



In Eastern Australia, the breeding season usually commences at the end of July or early 

 in August, and continues until the middle of December. 



•Trans. Roy. Soo.- South Austr., Vol. xxii., p. 180 (1898). 



