THE JACKDAW. 19 



Contains palsearctic JackdaAvs only. Genus very similar to 

 Corvus, and might \nthout great harm be suppressed. It differs, 

 however, by having shorter, pointed bill with almost straight 

 culmen. First primary is rather strongly emarginated on inner 

 web, tail at end and single rectrices almost square, very slightly 

 rounded. Only two palaearctic species, of which C. monedula 

 occurs in several races all over Europe and northern Africa as 

 well as parts of Asia. 



COLCEUS MONEDULA 



5. Coloeus monedula spermologus (Vieill.)* — THE JACKDAW. 



CoRVirs SPERMOLOGTTS Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d"IIist. Xat., vni, p. 40 



(1817 — ^Typical locality : south of France). 



Corvus monedula Linnaeus, Yarrell, n, p. 305 ; Saunders, p. 239. 



Jackdaw Coiieus m. spermologus). 



Desceiption. — Adult male and female. Winter. — ^Xasal and rictal 

 bristles glossy black ; fore-head and cro^^-n glossy blue-black ; nape, 

 back and sides of neck, and ear-coverts silver^- ash-grey : mantle, 

 back and rump black shghtly glossed blue and tinged greyish 

 (feathers being narrowly tipped grey) : scapulars and upper tail- 

 coverts with more purple gloss ; chin, throat, under w-ing-co verts, 

 and axillaries black, shghtly glossed blue ; rest of under-parts 

 black, tinged greyish : tail black, outer feathers glossed bluish-green 

 on outer webs, inner bluer ; bastard-^^ing, primaries, and primary- 

 coverts glossed bluish-green ; secondaries and all \^-ing-coverts 

 glossed reddish-purple. This plumage is acquired b}' complete 

 moult in early autumn, beginning ^^-ith Ming-feathers in June. 

 Summer. — ^Xo moult. Abrasion has httle effect, but by wear of 

 tips of feathers grey of neck becomes less pronounced and mantle 

 and under-parts rather darker. 



* The Scandinaxian Jackdaw, Coloeus monedula monedula (L.), may 

 possibly be an immigrant to the east coast of Great Britain in autumn, but 

 none of the specimens of migrants which we have so far examined have been 

 of this form. 



C2 



