296 birds of india. 



The Indian Corby. 



Descr. — Above glossy black, dull black beneath ; tail slightly 

 rounded ; wings reach nearly to the end of the tail ; bill straight 

 at the base and high, culinen raised, curving strongly towards the 

 tip. 



Bill and legs black : irides dark brown. Length 21 inches; Aving 

 131 ; tail 7| ; bill at front 2/^ ; tarsus 2i 



The common Carrion Crow of India is found throughout the 

 whole country, from the extreme south and Ceylon, to the Hima- 

 layas as far west as Cashmere ; and, eastward, it occurs in 

 Assam, Burmah, and the Malayan Peninsula. Adams states that it is 

 not found in the Punjab. Though not nearly so numerous as 

 C splendens, this Crow is yet very abundant and generally spread, 

 less affecting the neighbourhood of man, and often found 

 in the most wild and unfrequented spots, in dense forests or 

 bleak mountains. In the south of India, as at Madras, the Neil- 

 gherries, and elsewhere, it is almost as familiar and impudent as 

 the common Crow, but, towards the north, it is perhaps less seen 

 about towns and villages. It is eminently a Carrion Crow, and 

 Mr. Blyth remarks that it " especially frequents the vicinity of the 

 great rivers." It is often the first to discover the carcass of any 

 dead animal. Like the rest of its tribe, however, it will partake of 

 any kind of food, and Sundevall states that he found nothing but 

 larvae and butterflies in those that he examined. Its voice is the 

 usual harsh caic, but hoarser and shorter than that of the European 

 Crow, according to Sundevall. It is very destructive, in some 

 places, to young chickens, pigeons, &c., and, I am informed, will 

 occasionally destroy a young kid. It also pilfers the eggs and 

 nestlings of many birds, on which account, perhaps, the King 

 Crow (Dicrurus ruacrocercus) pursues it more relentlessly than it 

 does the common Crow. 



It breeds, according to the locality, from April to June, or later, 

 generally on some isolated tree, making the usual nest of sticks, 

 which is, sometimes, in colder countries, lined Avith hair. ( Vide 

 Hutton, Oology of India, J. A. S. XVII. pt. 2, p 9). The eggs are 

 three or four, dull green, thickly spotted with dusky brown. Occa- 

 sionally the Koel {Eudrjnamijs orientalis) drops an e^^ in the nest of 



