Rev. A. C. Smith on the Birds of Portugal. M<7 



the last of these two species — though, when wandering with my 

 gun, as I did for several days amidst the rocky heights above 

 Cintra, 2000 feet above the sea, and, looking down on the broad 

 Atlantic and the mouth of the Tagus, I fell in with several 

 parties of Choughs, some of which were unmistakeably distin- 

 guishable as the common Chough by the vermilion colour of 

 their beaks, and others appeared to me, as 1 watched them 

 through the glass, to belong to the Alpine species. At all 

 events, both are known to inhabit Portugal. 



89. *CoRVUS coRAX, Linn. Raven. " Corvo." 



90. fCoRVUS CORONE, Linn. Carrion-Crow. " Gralha." 



9L *CoRVus FRUGiLEGus, Liuu. Rook. " Gralha." 

 These are all common. Ravens are especially abundant on 

 the extensive heaths, hunting over the low bushes, and search- 

 ing for food. I never met with C. comix. 



92. fCoRvus MONEDULA, Linn. Jackdaw. 



By no means abundant, and I scarcely think common. 



I could learn nothing of C. monedula-nigra ; supposing such 

 a species to exist, which I very much doubt, at any rate in this 

 country, supposed to be one of the strongholds of the bird, the 

 very name seems wholly unknown. Surely it is but a variety of 

 our common species;}:. 



93. *PiCA MELANOLEUCA, Vieill. Magpie. " Pega." 

 Common everywhere. 



94. tCvANOPiCA cooKi, Bonap. Azure-winged Magpie. 

 " Rabilongo." 



This beautiful bird was the chief prize I proposed to myself 

 to procure before I started for Portugal, as I fondly hojjcd from 

 Mr. Mathews's account, before mentioned, that 1 should have 

 no difficulty in finding it. But though I wandered for days in 

 search of it, in the most likely spots, I never saw it alive; 

 indeed Prof, du Bocage assured me that, though by no means 

 rare, it is very local, and of so exceedingly shy a nature that it 



X [The figures and descriptions of this supposed species, wliich, if 

 distinct, would seem to be properly called C. spcnnoli't/iiJi, Vieill., agree 

 verv well with the younp of the common Daw. — VId.] 



