112 Correspondence. T ^j' 



Emu 

 Oct. 



Pheasants. Blood films, made by spreading a thin, even film of 

 quite fresh blood on a microscope slide (a piece of glass about 

 2^ inches by 3/(-inch— rubbing the smooth glassy surface first 

 with very fine emery paper is a great help), should be taken 

 whenever a bird is shot. There are doubtless many blood 

 parasites present amongst our birds, especially tropical ones, 

 which only await discovery. 



(3.) All ticks, lice, intestinal worms, and other parasites 

 should be preserved and forwarded to some authority for 

 identification. 



(4.) The contents of the crop, stomach, intestines, &c., should 

 be carefully examined, and notes made of their nature. Insects, 

 if possible, should be identified ; seeds also collected, and 

 planted if there seem a prospect of their growing. Burrs 

 attached to the feathers should be identified, and the mud from 

 wading birds collected and examined for the seeds of marsh 

 plants, shell-fish, &c. Certain species of plants, as Darwin 

 pointed out, may be transported over vast distances in this 

 way. 



I shall be delighted to be of service to anyone who desires to 

 follow up some of these lines of investigation and requires 

 fuller particulars. I am especially anxious to obtain specimens 

 of tumours and diseased organs, blood films, ticks, and internal 

 parasites, and, where I cannot identify specimens myself, will be 

 happy to forward them into more capable hands. 



May I conclude by earnestly calling attention to these various 

 points for study, and expressing the hope that many of our 

 ornithologists may interest themselves in them. — I am, yours, 

 &c., 



J. BURTON CLELAND, M.D. 



C/o Central Board of Health, 

 Perth, W.A., 16/6/07. 



CROWS V. RAVENS. 

 To the Editors of " The Emu." 

 Sirs, — There seems to be an impression abroad in many 

 quarters that the Crow ( Corone australis, Gld.) is not found in 

 Tasmania, but that all our birds are Ravens {Corvus corojiotdes, V. 

 and H.) In Col. Legge's "List of Tasmanian Birds" both 

 species are given, and the scientific names are as above. In 

 Hall's " Key " the names are reversed, Corone australis being 

 called the Raven and Corvus coronoides the Crow, the main dif- 

 ference given being in the bases of the neck and body feathers, 

 which in " coronoides " are said to be snow-white and in ''australis^' 

 dusky brown or black. Recently I have examined five or six 

 specimens from this district (some in the presence of Mr. H. C. 



