480 Mr. W. Jesse on the 



Martin was fool enough to come to the mouth of the hole to 

 find out what was up, it was promptly seized and devoured. 

 Mr. A. O. Hume and others state that the Koel some- 

 times lays its eggs in the nest of this bird ; but I fancy that 

 it rarely does so here, and the Black Cuckoo scarcely ever 

 puts in an appearance much before the end of the second 

 week in April, by which time nearly every Jungle-Crow 

 has hatched its eggs. 



No. 7. Coiivus sPLENDENs. Indian House-Crow. 



Kowa [H. Lucknow]. 



The House-Crow with its glossy black and grey plumage 

 is too familiar a bird to need any description. It is a 

 general scavenger, aiding the Kites, Vultures, and Jungle- 

 Crows. Mr. George Reid says that " it robs nests, if not 

 habitually, at least occasionally, for I have more than ouce 

 seen it despatching eggs with great gusto." 



No bird, not even the famous Jackdaw of Rheims, is half 

 so impudent. Often whilst the Martiniere boys — some 250 

 or more — have been actually sitting at meals, I have seen 

 Crows come through the open windows and snatch scraps 

 off the table before anyone could touch them. When once 

 the signal to dismiss had been given, tlie Crows would dart 

 in instantly, and the Kitmatghars would be seen rushing 

 round to drive them away from what they (the natives) 

 looked upon as their lawful perquisites. 



This Crow breeds in numbers during the rains. Mr. Reid 

 says "very generally in July and August" ; but nearly all 

 my eggs, and I have taken dozens, have been procured 

 during the month of June. 



It breeds on any tree, but I think for choice on the 

 babools along the railway-line. The nest is composed of 

 an outer layer of sticks, the thornier the better, lined inside 

 with grass — never with hair, as is invariably the case with 

 C. macrorhynchus. The eggs are usually four in number, 

 though occasionally I have taken five. In the nests of this 

 bird the hen Kocl {Eudynamys honorata) lays her eggs. I 

 have taken sometimes one, sometimes two, KoeFs eggs 



