ON THE SYSTEMATIC NAME OF THE KAMTSCHATKAN AND JAP- 

 ANESE CARRION CRCW. 



By I.EOiXHARD !^TEJ>EC;EK. 



Wlieu writiug my " Results of Oruitbological Exploratious in Kamt- 

 scliatka aud the Commauder Islands," three years ago, the series of Old 

 World Crows possessed by our Museum was very scauty. Siuce theu we 

 have received many additions, aud, although our series of these birds 

 is still very deficieut, euough material has accumulated to convince me 

 that I was entirely wrong in identifying the Kamtschatkan and Japanese 

 Carrion Crow with the '^ Black Hill Crow" of India {Corvus levaillantii 

 Less.). I hasten to correct the mistake, which was chietly due to the 

 ikct that at the time I did not realize the essential differences between 

 the two groups of crows represented by C. macroyhynch us aud C.corone. 

 Ornithologists familiar with these must have wondered at my absurdity 

 in making C. levaillantii a subspecies of C. corone. 



The difference between the two groups is one of structure rather than 

 of color, and one who has once observed it will not likely confound 

 them afterwards. 



C. corone and its allies differ materially from C. macrorhynchus aud 

 its allies in the form and aspect of the feathers of the crown and the 

 jugulum. In the former the feathers of the top of the head are. indi- 

 vidually distinguishable, the outline of each feather beiug well marked, 

 giving the idumage of the crown a somewhat scaly appearance. In 

 C. macrorhynchus^ levaillantii, cidminatus, and japonensis it is quite 

 otherwise, for in these the top of the head presents a very smooth ap- 

 pearance, the individual feathers blending into a uniform glossj' sur- 

 face. On the jugulum the difference is perhaps still greater, the feathers 

 of this part in C. corone being lanceolate, pointed, and individualized 

 like those of the throat, while in the other forms mentioned above the 

 jugular feathers are rounded and blended in contradistinction to the 

 throat-feathers, which are pointed. 



If these differences be kept in mind there can be no difficulty in sepa- 

 rating the two groups, and tested by them the Kamtschatkan and Jap- 

 anese bird proves to belong to the G. corone group. 



I agree with Mr. Taczanowski that the Eastern Carrion Crow differs 

 sufficiently from the typical European bird to justify their separation 

 as a subspecies, and not being able to consult the original description 

 of Eversmann's C. orlentalis, or specimens from the locality whence 

 came Eversmann's type, I accept Taczanowski's identification. 



The following synonymy may be acceptable in place of the one given 

 in my " Oru. Expl. Kamtsch.," p. 239. It should be remarked, how- 

 ever, that Taczanowski's Corvus orlentalis in Journ. f. Orn., 187G, p. 198, 

 320 



