16 



A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Wing-formula of A, Carrion-Crow (C. corone). B, Rook (C. frugilegus). 



Description (Plate 1). — Adult male and female. Winter. — Nasal 

 region, fore-head, lores, and under eyes bare greyish-white skin, 

 covered with short rounded " knobs " (aborted feather sheaths) ; 

 chin and upper-throat covered with dark greyish-brown down-like 

 degenerate feathers, plumules, and filoplumes ; crown, nape, and 

 ear-coverts black, glossed greenish-purple ; rest of upper-parts and 

 under-parts black, glossed reddish-purple, but lower flanks and 

 under tail-coverts inclined to bluish-purple, and tibial feathers 

 greenish ; vent, under wing-coverts, and axillaries sooty-black, with 

 little gloss ; tail black underneath, glossed reddish- and greenish- 

 purple above ; primaries black underneath, glossed purplish-green 

 above, especially on outer webs and tips ; secondaries same, but 

 glossed reddish-purple on outer webs and greenish on inner ; 

 primary-coverts and bastard-wing like primaries but more glossy ; 

 greater coverts like secondaries ; median and lesser coverts glossed 

 reddish-purple. This plumage is acquired by complete moult 

 commencmg with primaries in May and finishing with head in 

 September. Summer. — ^No moult. Down on chin gradually wears 

 away, and very little remains by January, when skin is bare and 

 greyish-white like fore-head. Rest of plumage becomes duller 

 and less glossy, especially on wings and tail, but latter never 

 become so brown as in first summer. 



Nestling. — Down, dusky - grey, skin black ; distribution, 

 humeral, spinal, ulnar, and femoral. Mouth bright crimson ; 

 tongue-spots pale orange. (A. G. Leigh, Brit. B., iv, p. 73.) 



Juvenile. — ^Nasal bristles black ; rest of head (fully feathered) 

 black, slightly glossed green ; hind-neck more brownish ; mantle 

 and scapulars same, slightly glossed reddish-purple ; back, rump, 

 and upper tail-coverts same, but slightly glossed greenish ; whole 

 under-parts brownish-black, very slightly glossed greenish ; tail- 



