Family Corvid.e 147 



FAMILY CORVID.F:. 



THE Crows are generally characterized by their large size : in the form of 

 the bill they differ considerably ; but it seems to be invariably hard, with 

 the nostrils at the base, and usually concealed by feathers ; the feet are 

 always strong and scutellated, with powerful curved claws ; the middle toe shorter 

 than the tarsus, the outer and middle toes united at the base and often to the 

 first joint ; the tail has twelve feathers. 



The family is represented in the British Isles by five genera: — Pyrrliocoyax ; 

 in which the bill is slender, arched, pointed and compressed ; the wings graduated, 

 with the fourth primary longest : Altci/raga ; in which the bill is stout, straight, 

 and with swollen base ; the wings graduated, but with the fifth primary counting 

 from the front of wiug longest : Gaii-ulus ; with stout compressed bill, straight 

 at the base ; the crown with erectile crest ; wings moderately long and rounded, 

 the fourth to sixth primaries nearly of equal length : Pica ; with stout compressed 

 bill, straight at the base, arched towards the tip, near to which the edge of the 

 upper mandible is slightly emarginate ; the wings short and rounded, with the 

 fourth or fifth primar}^ longest ; the tail very long : Coi'viis ; with bill nearly as 

 in Pica ; the wings long and graduated, with the fourth primary longest. 



The Crows are cosmopolitan: according to Seebohm they "are almost omni- 

 vorous, and are found in most localities, however bare and sterile. They are birds 

 of powerful, though rather heavy flight, and on the ground walk with ease. 

 Their notes are harsh and immusical. They build bulk}' nests of sticks, moss, 

 roots, etc., in the branches of trees, on cliffs, and in holes in tree-trunks, walls, 

 and rocks. Their eggs are from four to eight in number, and vary from almost 

 white to green, and in one or two instances red, in ground-colour, spotted and 

 blotched with green of varying degrees of intensity." 



As pets the Corvida. generally are favourites, on account of their intelligence, 

 the ease with which they can be tamed, their amusing tricks, their general hardiness, 

 omnivorous tendencies, and lastly the marvellous mimicking powers which some of 

 them possess : the chief drawbacks to keeping these birds are their natural tendency 

 to mischief and pilfering when allowed comparative liberty and the labour necessary 

 to keep them clean when caged : they are best kept separately in small flights — 

 about three feet high, two feet wide, and seven feet long. 



