16 



A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Wing-formula of A, Carrion-Crow (C. corone) . B, Rook (C. frugilegus). 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 1). Adult male and female. Winter. Nasal 

 region, fore-head, lores, and under eyes bare greyish-white skin, 

 covered with short rounded "knobs " (aborted feather sheaths) ; 

 chin and upper-throat covered with dark greyish-brown down-like 

 degenerate feathers, plumules, and filoplumes ; crown, nape, and 

 ear-coverts black, glossed greenish-purple ; rest of upper-parts and 

 under-parts black, glossed reddish-purple, but lower flanks and 

 under tail-coverts inclined to bluish-purple, and tibial feathers 

 greenish ; vent, under whig-coverts, and axillaries sooty-black, with 

 little gloss ; tail black underneath, glossed reddish- and greenish- 

 purple above ; primaries black underneath, glossed purplish-green 

 above, especially on outer webs and tips ; secondaries same, but 

 glossed reddish-purple on outer webs and greenish on inner ; 

 primary-coverts and bastard-wing like primaries but more glossy ; 

 greater coverts like secondaries ; median and lesser coverts glossed 

 reddish-purple. This plumage is acquired by complete moult 

 commencing with primaries in May and finishing with head in 

 September. Summer. No moult. Down on chin gradually wears 

 away, and very little remains by January, when skin is bare and 

 greyish-white like fore-head. Rest of plumage becomes duller 

 and less glossy, especially on wings and tail, but latter never 

 become so brown as in first summer. 



Nestling. Down, dusky - grey, skin black; distribution, 

 humeral, spinal, ulnar, and femoral. Mouth bright crimson ; 

 tongue-spots pale orange. (A. G. Leigh, Brit. B., iv, p. 73.) 



Juvenile. Nasal bristles black ; rest of head (fully feathered) 

 black, slightly glossed green ; hind-neck more brownish ; mantle 

 and scapulars same, slightly glossed reddish -purple ; back, rump, 

 and upper tail-coverts same, but slightly glossed greenish ; whole 

 under-parts brownish-black, very slightly glossed greenish ; tail- 



