THE JACKDAW. 153 



our ears, most unmusical and annoying, and his thieving- and hiding-instincts have 

 long been historically famous or infamous." 



Mr. J. Lewis Bonhote of Cambridge, who has kept all the British Corvidce at 

 various times, with the exception of the Raven, writes as follows : " The Magpie 

 is a nice sprightly bird, and when hand-reared is beautifully tame : he seems to 

 be the least pugnacious of this rather vicious family. His merry rattling note is 

 a nice change from the ordinary croak so frequently uttered." 



Family COR VID&. 



THE JACKDAW. 



Corvus monedula, LINN. 



BREEDS and is resident throughout the greater part of Europe, but does 

 not occur northwards beyond central Scandinavia ; southwards in the 

 Mediterranean basin it becomes very local : it has straggled along the African 

 coast as far as the Canaries. In Asia it occurs northwards in Western Siberia 

 as far as lat. 60 ; but in the valley of the Yenesei Seebohm only observed it as far 

 north as lat. 56 ; southwards it is common in South Russia, Turkestan, westwards 

 through the Caucasus to Asia Minor and Palestine, and southwards to Cashmere 

 and Afghanistan where it breeds, visiting the plains of N. W. India in the winter. 



In Great Britain it breeds and is resident in most suitable localities; though 

 on the rock-bound portions of our coasts it is frequently replaced by the Chough ; 

 the two species being very rarely found occupying the same district. In the Outer 

 Hebrides it has not been met with, and to the Shetlands it is only a straggler. 



The upper parts of the male Jackdaw are glossy black with purple and green 

 reflections ; the ear coverts, nape and side of neck ashy-grey inclining to white ; 

 under parts dull black ; bill and feet black, iris greyish-white. The female is 



VOL. II. 2 B 



