THE JACKDAW. 19 



Contains palaearctic Jackdaws only. Genus very similar to 

 Corvus, and might without great harm be suppressed. It differs, 

 however, by having shorter, pointed bill with almost straight 

 culmen. First primary is rather strongly emarginated on inner 

 web, tail at end and single rectrices almost square, very slightly 

 rounded. Only two palaearctic species, of which C. monedula 

 occurs in several races all over Europe and northern Africa as 

 well as parts of Asia. 



COLCEUS MONEDULA 



5. Coloeus monedula spermologus ( Vieill. ) * THE JACKDAW. 



CORVUS SPERMOLOGUS Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., vin, p. 40 



(1817 Typical locality : south of France). 



Corvus monedula Linnaeus, Yarrell, n, p. 305 ; Saunders, p. 239. 



Jackdaw (Coloeus m. spermologus). 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male and female. Winter. Nasal and rictal 

 bristles glossy black ; fore-head and crown glossy blue-black ; nape, 

 back and sides of neck, and ear-coverts silvery ash-grey ; mantle, 

 back and rump black slightly glossed blue and tinged greyish 

 (feathers being narrowly tipped grey) ; scapulars and upper tail- 

 coverts with more purple gloss ; chin, throat, under wing-coverts, 

 and axillaries black, slightly glossed blue ; rest of under-parts 

 black, tinged greyish ; tail black, outer feathers glossed bluish-green 

 on outer webs, inner bluer ; bastard-wing, primaries, and primary- 

 coverts glossed bluish-green; secondaries and all wing-coverts 

 glossed reddish-purple. This plumage is acquired by complete 

 moult in early autumn, beginning with wing-feathers in June. 

 Summer. No moult. Abrasion has little effect, but by wear of 

 tips of feathers grey of neck becomes less pronounced and mantle 

 and under-parts rather darker. 



* The Scandinavian Jackdaw, Coloeus monedula monedula (L.), may 

 possibly be an immigrant to the east coast cf Great Britain in autumn, but 

 none of the specimens of migrants which we have so far examined have been 

 of this form. 



