CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 



THE CROW FAMILY 



THIS family is 

 found all over the 

 world and includes 

 about 200 species. 

 Among them are the 

 raven, rook, jackdaw, 

 and various kinds of 

 crows, most of them 

 birds of somber plum- 

 age. Magpies and 

 numerous kinds of 

 bright-colored jays 

 also belong in this 

 family, and the beau- 

 tiful birds of Para- 

 dise, found in New 

 Guinea and other 

 islands of the Papuan 

 region, are closely related to the crows and their allies. 

 Of the birds of Paradise there are about forty kinds, 

 differing greatly in size, color, and ornamental plumes. 



In the various members of the crow family, the legs 

 and feet are strong. They are adapted for walking on 

 the ground or, in the case of the jays, which live more 

 in trees, for hopping. The bill is straight and has sharp 

 cutting edges. Its upper outline is curved. The nos- 

 trils are covered with tufts of bristly feathers. They 

 eat almost everything which any birds eat. Being bold, 

 cunning, and unscrupulous, many of them are disliked 



344 



Finley 6* Bohlman 

 FIG. 213. A young magpie. 



