586 PERCHING BIRDS 



bright tone of the plumage, and the much smaller crest. The latter is 

 altogether absent in young birds, whose plumage on the upper-parts is 

 greyish brown, striped with a darker tint on the crown of the head ; 

 the throat is white, with indistinct dusky stripes, and the rest of the 

 under-parts dull white tinged with buff, deepening on the flanks to 

 ashy brown. 



This starling is an irregular visitor during summer and autumn 

 from the south-east to the British Islands (inclusive of Orkney and 

 Shetland) ; but although specimens have been observed in the middle 

 of summer, no instance of its breeding has been recorded. 



With the usual sable liverv of the more typical 

 RavGn ' 



representative of the crow- family, or Corvida;, the 

 (Copvus corax). ^ . , , : . r i • .1 



raven occupies the proud position ot being the 



largest of the British perching birds, measuring about 25 inches in 

 total length. It is thus easil}' identified, and therefore needs no 

 detailed description. It should, however, be mentioned that hens are 

 somewhat inferior in point of size to cocks, and are further dis- 

 tinguished by a smaller development of the pointed feathers on the 

 throat, while the purplish-blue reflections of the wholly black plumage 

 are likewise somewhat less intense. In young birds this relative 

 dulncss of the plumage is still more strongly marked. 



Before proceeding further a few lines may be devoted to the 

 leading characteristics of the Corvid.x- as a whole, which are generally 

 regarded as the most highly developed of all perching birds, and 

 therefore of birds in general. In what this superiority specially 

 consists it is not very easy to define, but reference may be made to 

 the high grade of intelligence of these birds, their compact and 

 beautifully formed plumage, strong wings and tail, powerful beak, 

 overshadowed at the base with plumes of feathers, their stout limbs, 

 adapted for walking in place of hopping ; and, in brief, their perfect 

 adaptation in every respect to their particular mode of life. 



From the starlings the members of the crow-tribe differ markedly in 

 that the plumage of the nestlings is of the same type, as regards 

 colouring, as that of the adult females, although paler ; and also in 

 the nostrils being completely hidden by feathers and bristles. The 

 two sexes arc more or less completely alike in colouring, and there 

 is but a single annual moult, taking place, as usual, in autumn. 

 With the exception of Australasia (in some parts of which it is 

 replaced by the I'aradiseida:, or birds-of-paradise, which have been 

 regarded as an allied group), and Oceania, the family has an almost 



