Cases 
84. 
83 
Su, 
[Case 84.] 
136 BIRD GALLERY. 
Family XLIV. Corvine. Crows. 
By almost common consent the birds of this family are placed at the 
head of the Class Aves. Pre-eminence must be given to the members 
of the genus Corvus, more especially to the Raven (C. corax) (2798) of the 
Northern Hemisphere, the bird perhaps best known from the most 
ancient times. 
In the Crow we find the most highly-developed type of wing and 
foot. In the former every quill and wing-covert is perfectly formed ; 
and in the latter all the scales on the metatarsi and toes are more 
strongly indicated than in any other Passerine bird. 
The distribution of the family is nearly universal. 
Three subfamilies are recognised : the True Crows (Corvine), Magpies 
and Jays (Garruline), and the Choughs (Fregiline). 
Of the former the best-known examples are the Raven (2793), 
Carrion-Crow (2796), Hooded Crow (2797), Rook (2792), and Jack- 
daw (2801), all well-known British residents; also the Nutcracker 
(Nucifraga caryocatactes) (2806), an irregular visitor to England. A 
remarkable African form is found in Corvultur (2794-5), which has 
a greatly developed upper mandible. 
Our Magpie (2810) and Jay (2823) represent the second subfamily 
(Garruline), with which are also associated various striking Oriental 
forms, such as Urocissa (2822), Dendrocitta (2819-20), and Cissa (2815-16), 
and the American genera Xanthura (2831-2) and Cyanocorax (2829-80). 
The third subfamily, Fregiline, includes our Common Chough (Gra- 
culus) (2887) and the Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax) (2836). 
Among the more aberrant forms also included in the family we may 
draw special attention to the curious looking West African Bald-headed 
Crow (Picathartes) (2840), the New Zealand Kokako or Wattled Crow 
(Glan copis) (2889), and the Huia (Heterolocha acutirostris) (2888). In 
this New Zealand bird the two sexes exhibit a different form of bill, that 
of the male being moderately powerful, while in the female it is slender 
and sickle-shaped. The pair are said to hunt in company, and live on 
the grubs which burrow in wood. The male attacks the more decayed 
portions of the wood, chiselling out the concealed grubs like a Wood- 
pecker, while the female inserts her long bill into holes, where the 
hardness of the surrounding wood prevents the male from penetrating. 
When the male is unable to reach some larvee, the female has been 
observed to come to his aid, and with her longer and more slender beak 
® a 
secure the hiddensprey. 
