CORVUS. 3 
Description. The whole plumage black; the head, neck and 
lower plumage richly glossed with purplish blue, the upper 
plumage with violet-purple ; the 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 3800 mm.; tail about 160 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. f. tschusii. 
Nidification. The Eastern Rook 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 aud contained 
three eggs, similar to those of the Common Rook and measuring 
34:0 x 26:0; 33°6x 25°9; and 34-1x 25:0 mm. The female was 
shot on the nest. 
Habits. The Eastern Rook is a very common winter visitor to 
the North-West Himalayas and occasionally wanders into the 
plains, having been killed at Abbottabad. Whitehead and 
Magrath report it as visiting Kohat in enormous numbers. ‘The 
Rook frequents the better cultivated parts of the country and 
feeds in ploughed and grass-covered lands on worms, snails, grubs 
and grasshoppers, ete. In Europe the Western form breeds in 
large societies but there is little on record about the Eastern 
form. 
