THE CROW TRIBE 



1489 



purple, the wings dull azure, brighter on the quills, the primaries being spotted 

 with white; the tail is azure blue, broadly tipped with white; the head and 

 entire throat are black, all the feathers of the fore-part of the crown being 

 t i p'p e d with lavender 

 gray, and the under sur- 

 face of the body being 

 light gray. The red- 

 billed species ( U. occi- 

 pitalis) , which is the one 

 represented in our fig- 

 ure, extends throughout 

 the Himalayas, from the 

 northwest to Nipal, 

 where it is chiefly con- 

 fined to the outer ranges. 

 It lives in small parties 

 containing from two or 

 three to half a dozen 

 birds, and breeds from 

 March to July. The 

 open nest is built at a 

 variable elevation above 

 the ground, and is 

 formed of twigs and 

 branches, lined with fine 



roots. The number of INDIAN TREE PIE. 

 eggs ranges from three (One-half natural size.) 

 to five; their color be- 

 ing similar to that characterizing those of the 

 common magpie. When feeding these birds are 

 generally on the ground. The head, neck, and 

 breast of the red-billed magpie are black; a large 

 patch on the nape is white; back, scapulars, and 

 rump are purplish blue; the wings are brown; the 

 first primaries are edged with blue; the tail is blue 

 broadly tipped with white, and the lower plumage 

 white tinged with purple. 



The genus Dendrocitta contains a 



group of Indian species, generally 



resembling the pies of the Old World, 

 but distinguished by short curved bills and the 

 constant possession of a chestnut coloration varied 

 with black. One species inhabits the island of 



Formosa; another is peculiar to the Andaman islands, and a third is found in the 

 Himalayas and Assam. The most generally distributed is the common Indian 

 94 



Indian Tree 

 Pies 



