Mongols do not bury their dead, but drag them out into the desert, where they 

 leave them to be devoured by the fowls of the air or the beasts of the field. 



The pretty little Chinese jackdaw, whose clean white collar and breast 

 and shiny black head, back, wings and tail give it a neat, clerical appearance, 

 often associates in large flocks with the handsome red-billed chough. They 

 frequent the same localities and both build their nests in crevices and holes in 

 high loess or rocky cliffs. 



The white-necked crow is never seen in mountainous regions, and even on 

 the fertile plains is not over abundant. It is a very solitary bird, and is 

 seldom seen except singly. Its near cousins, the carrion crow and the black 

 crow, are on the other hand more common and gregarious, being found in 

 flocks wherever there is a chance of obtaining sustenance. 



The common magpie [Pica caudata) and the azure-winged magpie 

 (Cyanopolius cyanus), a beautiful little pie with delicate mauve-grey body, white 

 throat, black head and azure blue wings and tail, seldom fail to appear in every 

 locality. The graceful blue magpie {Urccissa sinensis), not unlike the last 

 mentioned species but larger, with crimson beak and legs, more blue and 

 purple on the body, and proportionately longer tail, is less widely distributed. 

 It is found only in central and southern Shensi, southern Shansi and parts of 

 Kansu. 



In the mountains of Shansi and in southern Shensi, a handsome jay 

 (Gamilus sinensis) is found, while in the pine forests of Shansi and Kansu the 

 noisy nutcracker {Nucifraga caryocatactes) sends forth its rollicking, laughter-like 

 call. All these species nest in the country, but some only are partially 

 migratory. This is noticeable chiefly in the case of the rooks, which at the 

 approach of winter, leave the northern parts of the provinces, where they 

 build their nests in the trees of the towns, and villages, accepting the 

 protection of man. They fly to the warmer plains of the south or to the flat 

 coastal regions of Chihli. 



Finches in vast numbers cross these provinces during the migratory 

 seasons, nesting in the remote mountainous regions of the north and west. 

 Few if any remain to breed on the plains. Amongst the most noticeable of 

 these are the crossbill [Loxia curuirostra) , hawfinch {Coccothraustes japonicus), 

 Chinese goldfinch [Ligurinus hawarahiba) , brambling {Fringilla montifringilla) , 

 rosefinch {Carpodacus roseus), and a beautiful scarlet-tinted finch named 

 Propasser pulcherrimus. 



Three species of bunting, Emberiza ciopsis, E. rusiica and E. elegans might 

 also be added to this group, but they are non-migratory, nesting in the 



C 97 



