CROW-LIKE BIRDS. 



B;' 



{The. Ibis. 1896. p. 26). say.s : " Wlien first I arrived 

 at Laii«>j in .March, 1895, there waa a large flock of 

 theso birds in the neiilibourliood. My attention was 

 attracted to them by thoir eurioue call and theiir non- 

 corvine look ivlien on tlie ivinfj, the latter dixe. I fancy, 

 to a .shortness of tail and great breadth of wing near 

 tlie body, quite out of proportion to the size, as a 

 Cixjw. The whole flock di.sapjieared in about a fort- 

 night, a.s, when I went out eome days later to shoot 

 another specimen, not a single bird was to be .seen." 



In T!ie^ IbU for 1898, ]>. 394, ilr. E. Loit, Phillip.'! 

 fyiys : "This .short-tailed Raven is extremely common 

 in .Somaliland. from tlie sea-coa*t at Berbei'a to the 

 top of the Goolis. It is a persistent and most 

 fearless camp-follower, and is ever on tJie look-out for 

 scr.aps from the kitchen. It has a curious habit of 

 walking aboiit with its beak -n-ide open, ae if gi-eatly 

 affected by the heat." 



Mr. F. J. Jackson found the stomach of a. female 

 which he examined " fu'll of eiggs and young bioxls." 

 {cf. The 7hi.'. 1899, p. 588.) 



Messrs. Rothschild .nnd Wollaston, when in the Sudan, 

 found this sjiecies " alwavs verv careful to keep out of 

 range of a gun." (The jhis. 1902, p. 13.) 



Two specimens of this Crow airrived at the I^ondon 

 Zoological Gardens in July, 1880. They are recorded in 

 the list under the generic name of Corvtis. I should 

 luive thought that this broad-winged, short-tailed, pro- 

 minently bristle-tufted-billed bird was generically dis- 

 tinct enough from the typical Crowis. 



Pied Crow-Shrike {Strepera graculina).* 



Glossy blue-lblack ; tail-feoithers crossed at base by 

 a broad white band and tipped with white, more 

 broadly on the inner than outer welbs ; base of 

 primairies. also white, forming a lange speculum ; inider 

 tail-coverts white; bill and feet black; irides yellow. 

 Female smaller than the male. Halb. , Australia. 



Gould says of this species (" Handbook," Vol. I., pp. 

 168, 169) : — " It is very generally distributed over the 

 colony of New South Wales, inhabiting alike the brushes 

 near the coast, those of the moumtain ranges, and 

 aJso the forests of Eurahjpli which olothe the plains 

 and more open country. As a great part of its food 

 consists of seeds, berries, and fruits, it is more arboreal 

 in its habits tlvam some of the other species of its group, 

 whose structure better adapits thejn for progression on 

 the ground, and w3iose food principally consists of 

 insects and their larvK. Like the other memlbers of the 

 genus, it is mostly seen in companies, varying from 

 four to si.x in niunber, seldoon either singly or iji pairs. 

 I am not. however, inclined to consadar them as gre- 

 garious birds in the strict sense of the word, be.lieiTinig 

 as I do tbat eacli of these aniall companiies is composed 

 of a pair and tbea- progeny, whi.ch appear to keep 

 together from the birth of the latter until the natural 

 impulse for pairing prompts them to 6epa.ra.te. ^ 



" rt is during iligbt that the markings of this bird 

 are displayed to the greatest adviambage, and render it 

 a conspdcuous dbject in the bush ; while on the wing it 

 ut.ters a peculiar nois.y cry, by which its presertee is 

 oft em dndicated. 



"The nest, which is usually constructed on the 

 branches of low trees, sometimes even on those of the 

 Cnsiwrinir. is of a large size, round, open, and cup- 

 ebaped, built with stacks and lined with moss and 



• Dr Sharpo plno«« the so-called Orow-S-hrikes anion? the 

 tniffl Crows, in which action I Brtsiime he is correct. Gmild 

 places them among the true Shrikes, together with the Piping- 

 Crows. 



grasses. The eggs, wliioh I was not so fortunate as 

 to procure, are said to be three or four in numlber." 



A. J. North says (" Catalogue of Nests and Egge," 

 p. 55) : — " It oonsltracts its nest in the forked branch of 

 a tree, usiuailly a Eucali/iJlus or C'asuarina; it is a 

 large, open, boiwl-shaped structure, outwardly com- 

 posed of sticks, and lined with strips of bark and 

 grasses. iBgIgs three or four in nurwber for a sitting, 

 of a paile chocolate-lbi'own, with faint, blotchings and 

 anaf kings of reddish-brown, in .some instances a few 

 obsolete irregular-shaped spots of lilac appear as 

 beneath the surface of the shell. Length (A) 1.55 x 

 1.12 in. ; (B) 1.7 x 1-15 in. ; (C) 1.63 x 1-2 in. 



" The breeding seison comnienoes in August and lasts 

 during the three following months." 



This species first reached the London Zoological 

 Gardeais in Miarch, 1868; a second esample was pur- 

 chased in Jiiy, 1869, and two others in Miay, 1873 ; one 

 was also received in exchange in May, 1887. 



Hill Crow-Shrike {Strepera arrjutu). 

 DuM blackish, browner at tips of w-ing-feathers and 

 on sides of neck ; wings black, priroames with a great 

 part of the inner web white; second'aries narrowly 

 tiipped with white ; tail greyisih exiternally, the feathers, 

 excepiting the two centiial ones, broadly tipped 

 with white on the inner we(b and narrowly on the 

 outer one ; breast with narTOW metallic shatt-SteeakB ; 

 under tail-coverts white ; bill and feet, black ; cormer 

 of mouth yellow ; irides orange-yellow. Female much 

 gi-eyer tliaji tile niialo and with a shorter bill. Hab., 

 Tasmania. 



Gould observes (" Handbook," Vol. I., pp. 171, 172) : 

 — " It is the largest, the boldest, and the most animated 

 species of the genus yet discovered. It is not strictly 

 gregarious, it is often seen in small companies of from 

 four to ten, and during the montJie of winter even 

 a greater numiber are to ba seen congregated together. 

 The districts most suited to its habits are ooen gladee 

 in the forest and thirely-ltimlbered hills. Although it 

 readily jierches on the trees, its natural resort is the 

 ground, for which its form is admiliralbly adapted, and 

 over which it passes with amazing ra(i>idit.y, eitlier in a 

 sucicessioai of leaps or by i-unning. Fruiits being but 

 spai-ingly diffused ove.r Austmlia, insects necesearaly 

 coneititute .almost its sole food, and of these neaoAy 

 e.veiry order inhabitating the surface of the ground 

 foi-ms part of its dieit ; grasshoppers are devoured with 

 great avidity. , 



" Its note is a loud ringing and very peculiar sound, 

 ' somewhat resembling the wo^rds dml. clink, several 

 times repeated, and sitronigily reminded me of the diaitant 

 sound of the strokes on a blacksmith's anvil : and 

 hence the term arqnta appeared to me to he an appro- 

 priate specific appeMa.tlon for this new speaies. 



" M\ the nests I found of this species either co<n- 

 tained voung biMs or were without eggs ; I am conse- 

 quently unable to give their size or colour. Ihe 

 nest, which is of a large size, is generally placed on 

 a horizontal brancli of a low tree ; it is round, deep 

 and cup-shaped, outmardly formed of sticks and lined 

 with fibrous roots and otiKer fine materials." _ 



A J. North ("Cataloaiie of Nests and E^ss VV- °\ 

 58) savs :— " Eggs three for a sitting, of a light, reddish 

 or buffv-brown ground colour, spotted or blotched with 

 markings of a darker tint: one specimen, B. is a 

 rounded-oval in form, and the markw.s are clouded 

 and not so well defined. Length (A) 1.78x1-18 in., 

 (B) 1.63x1-21 in.; (C) 1.64xL22 in.' 



"The months of September _ and October constitute 

 the breeding season af this species." 



