136 Oil the Corvus neglectus 0/ Schlegel. 



4th, Altogether C. neglectus is a darker bird than 

 C. monedula. 



5th. The dimensions are not smaller, as generally stated : 

 one bird in the Museum of Turin has the wing 240 mm. 

 long, while in C. monedula the wing is about 230 mm. 



Hab. Japan and Eastern Asia from Siberia to N. China. 



In the recent work of Dr. Hartert {' Die Vogel der pala- 

 arktischen Fauna ^) Cokeus neglectus is treated, as " hochst- 

 wahrscheinlich keine Art.^^ I was rather surprised at this 

 statement, especially as the Museum of Turin possesses two 

 fine specimens obtained on board the ship * Magenta ' while 

 staying in the Gulf of Petchili (Giglioli, ' Viaggio della 

 Magenta/ p. 601). Therefore I was induced to investigate 

 the status of the bird, and I soon perceived that ornitho- 

 logists Avere at variance on the subject. 



It appears that Pallas was the first to mention the bird, 

 thinking that it was a variety of C. dauricus. 



Temminck and Schlegel in the ' Fauna Japonica' described 

 specimens from Japan as the young of the same bird ; they 

 also gave a good figure of it. 



Later on Schlegel (Bijdr. etc.) recognised tliat the bird 

 figured as the young of C. dauricus in the ' Fauna Japonica ' 

 was really an adult, and described it under the name of 

 C. neglectus. He pointed out that the two typical specimens 

 had the remiges and rectrices Avorn, so that they could not 

 be young, and besides he rightly noticed that in the Crows 

 the young birds do not differ much in colouring from the 

 adults. Notwithstanding all this, in the ' Museum des 

 Pays-Bas/ Coraces, p. 35, Schlegel went back to the earlier 

 mistake and declared that the two types of C neglectus were 

 nothing but young birds of (\ dauricus ! Swinhoe (P. Z. S. 

 1871, p. 383) protested against such statement, saying : 

 " I cannot understand Prof. Schlegel considering the follow- 

 ing species (C neglectus^ the young of this bird (C dauricus). 

 I have taken this bird from the nest and found the young 

 beginning life \ni\\ all the characters of the adult." 



When we consider that Swinhoe, David, Styan, and others 

 have noticed that between the two extreme forms, the pied 



