148 CORVUS ALBLrS 



equally coiiirnon, affoctinp; the open plains and neighbour- 

 hood of towns in preference to the bush countr}-. From the 

 Zambesi, Sir John Kirk writes : " Particularly common in 

 the Portuguese towns, where it is the common scavenger, and 

 also all up the river." ■ Mr. Boyd Alexander, while on the 

 Zambesi, saw them generally in large flocks, one of w^iich he 

 put up out of a mealie-field, which rose " with a great uproar, 

 and circled in the air after the manner of Rooks." In 

 Nyasaland, according to Sir Harry Johnston, it takes the 

 place of Corvultur albicolUs in the less elevated districts, 

 and he found this also to be the case when he ascended 

 Kilimanjaro. 



In North-east Africa, according to Heuglin, it is to bo 

 met with, singly or in pairs, excepting during the winter 

 months, when they assemble in small parties. In Sennaar in 

 June, he found one of their nests placed in a small acacia tree 

 about 12 feet from the ground, and resembled in structure 

 that of our Common Rook. Hartman likewise found a nest 

 in the same country, on May 3, with eggs resembling those of 

 the Carrion Crow. 



In the Indian Ocean the species ranges as far east as 

 ]\Iadagascar and the Seychelles Ai'chipelago. It is plentiful 

 in Madagascar, where its Betsileos name is " Goaka," in the 

 Bar language the "Gaga" and the Hovas call it "Voromkako." 

 On the island of Anjuan it is known, according to Mr. Bewsher, 

 as the " Quihe." The species has been obtained in Mohilla 

 by Kersten, on Mayotte by Pollen and Humblot, and it is 

 known to be distributed over the Seychelles Islands. 



During Sir E. Newton and Mr. S. Roch's expedition from 

 Tamatave to Antananarivo they " found a nest on a low tree 

 in the middle of the capitol. The nest and eggs were in 

 every respect similar to those of the Connnon or Hooded 

 Crow." 



