THE CHOUGH. '39 



FAMILY CORVID^. 



THE Crows are generally characterized by their large size : in the form of the 

 bill they differ considerably; but it seems to be invariably hard, with the 

 nostrils at the base, and usually concealed by feathers ; the feet are always strong 

 and scutellated, with powerful curved claws ; the middle toe shorter than the 

 tarsus, the outer and middle toes united at the base and often to the first joint ; 

 the tail has twelve feathers. 



The family is represented in the British Isles by five genera: Pyrrhocorax ; 

 in which the bill is slender, arched, pointed and compressed ; the wings graduated, 

 with the fourth primary longest : Nucifraga ; in which the bill is stout, straight, 

 and with swollen base ; the wings graduated, but with the fifth primary longest : 

 Garrulus ; with stout compressed bill, straight at the base ; the crown with erectile 

 crest ; wings moderately long and rounded, the fourth to sixth primaries nearly of 

 equal length : Pica ; with stout compressed bill, straight at the base, arched towards 

 the tip, near to which the edge of the upper mandible is slightly emarginate ; the 

 wings short and rounded, with the fourth or fifth primary longest ; the tail very 

 long : Corvus ; with bill nearly as in Pica ; the wings long and graduated, with 

 the fourth primary longest. 



The Crows are cosmopolitan : according to Seebohm they " are almost omni- 

 vorous, and are found in most localities, however bare and sterile. They are birds 

 of powerful, though rather heavy flight, and on the ground walk with ease. 

 Their notes are harsh and unmusical. They build bulky nests of sticks, moss, 

 roots, etc., in the branches of trees, on cliffs, and in holes in tree-trunks, walls, 

 and rocks. Their eggs are from four to eight in number, and vary from almost 

 white to green, and in one or two instances red, in ground-colour, spotted and 

 blotched with green of varying degrees of intensity." 



As pets the Corvidce generally are favourites, on account of their intelligence, 

 the ease with which they can be tamed, their amusing tricks, their general hardiness, 

 omnivorous tendencies, and lastly the marvellous mimicking powers which some of 

 them possess : the chief drawbacks to keeping these birds are their natural tendency 

 to mischief and pilfering when allowed comparative liberty and the labour necessary 

 to keep them clean when caged : they are best kept separately in small flights 

 about three feet high, two feet wide, and seven feet long. 



