328 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 



COBVUS CORAX, Linn. 



We occasionally noticed Ravens during almost the whole 

 of our long sledge-journey ; but at the Koo-ray'-i-ka they did 

 not appear until the middle of May. After their arrival a 

 day seldom passed without one or more being seen. They 

 seemed to me to be less shy than Ravens usually are, and I 

 had no difficulty in shooting half a dozen to skin. I was 

 told, upon good authority, that in summer they are found as 

 far north as the Russian fishermen go, about lat. 72. I 

 brought home eight skins of this bird with me. They varied 

 in length of wing, from carpal joint, from 16'2 to 17 '2 inches. 

 The exposed portions of the bastard primary varied from 6 to 7 

 inches, and the distance from the end of the first primary to 

 the end of the second primary from 3*3 to 4 inches, the 

 bastard primary exceeding in length the end of the inner- 

 most secondaries. 



CORVUS CORNIX, Linn. 



During the whole of our long sledge-journey from Nishni 

 Novgorod as far as Tomsk the Hooded Crow abounded on the 

 road-sides ; and in returning during the autumn I found it 

 equally common on the banks of the various rivers which the 

 steamer navigates between Tomsk and Tobolsk, and between 

 the latter town and Tyu-main'. Indeed, so far as my obser- 

 vation goes, the whole of Russia and West Siberia may be 

 described as a vast colony of Hooded Crows. East Siberia, 

 on the other hand, is an equally vast colony of Carrion-Crows. " 

 From Kras-no-yarsk' to Yen-e-saisk' I saw nothing but the 

 Carrion-Crow. Middendorff records the same on the Lay'-ria, 

 and eastwards to the sea of Okotsk ; and southwards Prje- 

 valsky (pronounced Psheval'sky) found it common in Mon- 

 golia. The distance between Tomsk and Kras-no-yarsk' is 

 about 550 versts. As you travel eastwards from Tomsk for 

 the first 200 versts the Hooded Crow only is to be seen. 

 During the last 200 versts before reaching Kras-no-yarsk' the 

 Carrion-Crow alone is found. In the intermediate 150 versts 

 about one fourth of the Crows are thoroughbred Hoodies, 

 one fourth are pure Carrion, and the remaining half are 



