THE COMMON BIRDS OF BURMA. 



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CROWS. *- ; / 



AT first it might seem quite unnecessary to describe such common 

 birds, as they are always forcing their attention on us. But the 

 crows consist of a large family, and not all of them of the same 

 disreputable caste as our two common pests. Burma is particularly 

 well representated by this family; having a good many not met with 

 in other parts of India. 



The Crow family consists of crows, magpies, treepies, and jays, 

 and may be divided up into five main groups by their colouring and 

 the shape of their tails. 



(1) The, Crows (proper) are birds whose plumage is all or nearly 

 all black, and whose tails are square-shaped. 



(2) The Magpies have long gratuated tails (i. e., longer than 

 their wings) and are either of the well-known black and white pied 

 plumage, or of a bright blue or a bright green. 



(3) The Treepies are also birds with long gratuated tails, whose 

 prevailing colour is brown with black points, and have rather pleasing 

 metallic calls, as well as harsh jay-like cries. 



(4) The Racket-tailed magpies are birds of a much smaller size 

 and have a peculiar shaped tail, in which the two central feathers 

 are suddenly broadened out into racquet-shaped ends. They are 

 peculiar to Burma, not being found in India. 



(5) The Jays are brown coloured birds with a conspicuous white 

 patch in the small of their backs, and have the well-known blue and 

 black checked feathers in their wings. 



JUNGLE CROW. 



The Jungle Crow. A good many people fail to recognise him and 

 class him with his noisier and more conspicuous smaller cousin, 

 the house-crow; others notice the difference and call him a raven, 

 of which we have none in Burma. He is easily recognised by his 

 glossy black coat and large coarse beak, and is in fact a very near 

 relation of the European Carrion-crow, having the same habits when 

 he keeps to his proper sphere. Many have, however, like the rural 

 population at home, left the country for the attractions of the towns, 

 and in consequence have lost in size. His true habitat is the jungle, 

 of which there is hardly any bit which a pair of them does not 

 patrol. However far away one may be out shooting, one or more 

 always turn up to act as general scavengers. During the nesting 



