NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 

 Black Crow (Corvus capensis). (Vol. I., p. 162.) 



Note. — ^Throughout this book the measurement of birds 

 are given in inches and fractions of inches. 



Total length in every instance means the measurement from 

 the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail. 



Description. — Male and female : glossy black. Iris dark 

 brown. Bill and feet dark horn colour. 



Lengthy from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, 18.00 ; 

 tail, 7.70 ; wing, 13.80. 



Distribution, — From the Cape to Central and North-East 

 Africa. 



Habits. — Associates in pairs or family parties. Usually 

 seen out on cultivated lands. The cry is a succession of dis- 

 cordant croaks. The nest is built of twigs in a tree, or on a 

 rocky ledge. Clutch, 3 to 5. Eggs pink, spotted with red j 

 size, 2.25 by 1.20. 



Wattled Starling {Dilophus carunculatus). (Vol. I., 

 p. 168.) 



Description. — Male in full breeding plumage : head and 

 throat bare and bright yellow. Wattles black. Body drab or 

 grey. Primary coverts, quills, and tail black. Iris brown. 

 Bill yellow. Feet pale pink. 



Total length, ?>.JS\ tail, 3 ; wing, 4.75. 



The majority of the male birds are not wattled. In a 

 large flock only a few individuals are fully wattled. The female 

 is paler than the male ; head feathered ; bare skin only round 

 eyes and on throat. 



Distribution. — Whole of Africa and Southern Arabia. 



Habits. — The wattled starlings associate in large flocks, 

 sometimes numbering many thousands. They are migratory, 

 and follow up the vast swarms of locusts until they exterminate 



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