CORVUS. 3y9 
Description. Similar to the Indian House-Crow, but with the 
dark parts shading into the lighter, which are ill-defined and a 
blackish grey. 
Distribution. Burma, Siam, Yunnan, Cochin China and the 
north of the Malay Peninsula. Its southern limit is not known, 
but it extends to villages some way south of Mergui. 
Birds from Assam, N. Chin Hills and N. Arrakan are somewhat 
intermediate as would be expected, but are nearer splendens than 
imsolens. Wickham reports that he found the Common Crow at 
Sandoway to be splendens and not the Burmese form. 
Nidification. Indistinguishable from that of splendens. One 
hundred eggs average 35:1 x 26-1 mm. 
Habits. In Burma this race takes the place of the Indian bird 
in every way, and is its equal in familiar insolence and erafty care 
for its own safety. 
(14) Corvus splendens protegatus. 
Tue Creyton Housn-Crow. 
orvus splendens protegatus Madar., Oin. Monatsb., xii, p. 195 
(1904) (Colombo). 
Corvus splendens. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 20. 
Vernacular names. Manchi Kaki (Tel.); Nalla Kaki (Tam.) ; 
Karari-Kaki, Kakum (Ceylon); Graya (Portuguese in Ceylon). 
Description. Very similar to insolens, but the light parts are 
not quite so dark as in that race and are more easily defined from 
the black.- 
Colours of soft parts as in splendens. 
Measurements. A rather smaller bird than splendens ; wing 
generally between 220 and 250mm. ; other parts in proportion. 
Distribution. Ceylon only. Specimens from the extreme south 
of ‘Travancore are very dark compared with Northern Indian birds, 
but are nearer to those than to the small dark Ceylon subspecies. 
Nidification. One hundred eggs collected by Messrs. W. EB. Wait 
and W. W. A. Phillips average 34:8 x 25-6 mm., and are not dis- 
tinguishable in colour from those of other races. 
Habits. Though neither so numerous nor so ubiquitous in 
Ceylon as its confreres in other parts, there is no difference to be 
recorded in their habits.* 
* Corvus splendens maledevicus Rehw. (Wiss. Erg. D. Tiefsee-Exp., p. 356, 
1904) appears to be described from some form of House-Crow imported 
into the Maldives. Only a single specimen was obtained. It is impossible 
to say what race this bird is, and the name cannot be maintained. 
D2 
