CORTUS. 



31 



Description. The whole plumage black ; the head, neck and. 

 lower^ pkimage richly glossed with purplish blue, the upper 

 plumage with violet-purple ; tlie base of the bill and face without 

 any feathers and showing up white. 



The Eastern race differs from the typical bird in being smaller 

 and especially in having a smaller, more slender bill. 



Colours of soft parts. Bill and feet black ; iris deep brown ; 

 facial skin white. 



Measurements. Total length about 480 mm. or less ; wing 

 about 300 nnn. ; tail about 100 mm. ; culmen 52 to 60 mm. 



The Nestling is without any gloss at first, but quickly assumes 

 it. Until about 10 to 12 months old the face is fully feathered ; 

 the nasal bristles are then cast, and by the time the bird is a year 

 old the face is entirely denuded of feathers. Whitehead says 

 that the Eastern form does not shed its facial feathers until 

 April or until it is practically a year old. 



Fig. 6. — Head of C.J. tscfiiisii. 



Nidification. The Eastern Eook breeds in Persia, Turkestan 

 and North-West Siberia, and probably Ladakh. A nest taken for 

 me by a native collecter was built on a small tree and contained 

 three eggs, similar to those of the Common Rook and measuring 

 34-0 X 2(3-0 ; 33-(J x 25-9 ; and 34-1 x 25-0 mm. The female was 

 shot on the nest. 



Habits. The Eastern Eook is a very common winter visitor to 

 the North-West Himalayas and occasionally wanders into the 

 plains, having been killed at Abbottabad. AVhitehead and 

 Magrath report it as visiting Kohat in enormous numbers. The 

 Eook frequents the better cultivated parts of the country and 

 feeds in ploughed and grass-covered lands on worms, snails, grubs 

 and grasshoppers, etc. In Europe the Western form breeds in 

 large societies but there is little on record about the Eastern 

 foi-m. 



