THE IXDIAX GREY-XECKED CROW. 11 



and it often kills young birds, bares, and rabbits. Macgillivray adds as its food Crustacea, moliusca, 

 grubs, and worms, mentioning that the stomach of one trapped in Linlithgowsliire in November, 1834, 

 was filled with oat seeds. Its principal food, however, is carrion, and it not unfrequeiitly attacks sickly 

 lambs and sheep. Mr. Hogg contributes to Macgillivray 's work a detailed account of the way in 

 which a Carrion Crow sets to work to kill the lambs and ewes, first digging out the eyes, and, as the 

 animals open their mouth in pain, attacking and tearing out their tongue, until at last the poor 

 creatures die from exhaustion, furnishing a good meal for the Crows and their young. The Carrion 

 Crow will sometimes attack even living birds, as Mr. Hogg witnessed the pursuit of one after 

 a Grcmse ; and Montagu states that he has seen one pursue a pigeon and strike it dead. 



The present species cannot be mistaken for an adult Rook, which is easily distinguished by its bare 

 face, but with the young of the latter bird there might be some confusion, as it has its face feathered 

 like the Carrion Crow. It is therefore as well to state that the two birds may be distinguished by 

 examining the base of the feathers, which are grey in a Rook and white in a Carrion Crow. 



The total length of the Carrion Crow is about nineteen inches, and it is all over of a glossy steel 

 black, with a shade of purple, the feathers of the throat being lanceolate in shape. 



THE INDIAN GREY-NECKED CROW (Coronc splendent). 



This species is about the size of a Jackdaw, but is closely allied to the Hooded Crow of Europe, 

 which it resembles in its mixture of grey on the hincl neck The following account of the bird's 

 habits is extracted from the work of Captain Vincent Legge on the " Birds of Ceylon " (p. 350) : 

 "He is gifted with as much as, if not more intelligence, than any member of his sagacious family; 

 and annoying as he is, on account of his large share of brains, he is nevertheless a most useful adjunct 

 to the sanitary regulations of Indian towns. He thrives to a marvellous degree in all these, his 

 prosperous condition depending mainly on his utter audacity, his entire disregard of man, his thieving 

 propensities, and his accurate powers of observation. He devotes himself to the timely occupation of 

 the back yard, the bungalow verandah, the barrack square, the abattoir, and the commissariat meat- 

 store, or he resorts to the scene of the fisherman's occupations on the sea-beach, or the door of the native 

 cottage at the morning hour of cooking, in all cases exactly at the opportune moment, and he is sure 

 not to come away without his wants being satisfied. While living at Trincomali I always found him 

 winging his way at early morn, while it \ras yet dusk, in long lines to the sea-beach and to the troops' 

 meat-store, to be in time for the dragging of the seine-net or the cutting up of the oxen ; and 

 gathering on the sands in noisy knots, or lining the branches in ' cawing ' rows, these skilful robbers 

 would never niiss a chance of snatching up an unguarded morsel. But it was at meal-time in the 

 barrack squares of Colombo that he was more particularly in his element ; crowding in scores round 

 the verandahs at the bugle-call of ' dinners up,' the audacious thieves waited until the tables were 

 spread, and eagerly watched for the opportunity of acquiring a midday repast. Luckless was the 

 soldier who turned his back for an instant ! From the adjacent branches to the table and back was 

 the work of a second, and in this space of time the savoury meat had disappeared from the gunner's 

 plate and was being discussed by half-a-dozen sable beaks. In the bungalow verandah the Crow proves 

 himself a terrible nuisance ; seated on the tops of the green ' tats/ or slyly perched on the window-sill 

 with his head awry, he does not scruple to pounce down, and in the momentary absence of the ayah 

 snatch the bread from the children's hands, or dart into the nursery and upset the, milk-jug on the 

 table ; or he will glide noiselessly through the breakfast-room window, and in an instant pounce upon 

 the sideboard or table, and having from afar selected the most tempting-looking cutlet or the best 

 viands, is off again before the appu, who is laying ' master's ' breakfast, can, with a well-aimed blow, 

 effectually stop the thief. The only satisfaction that ' master ' gets is the appu's tale, ' Sar ! I go to 

 kitchen for a minute, and that Crow take away master's breakfast.' I have witnessed one of these 

 birds come into the mess-room at Colombo, pull off the napkin that had been placed over a cold joint 

 on the sideboard, and begin pecking away most vigorously at the meat. 



" Concerning the Crow's exploits in Ceylon, Layard writes as follows : ' He levies contributions 

 on all alike : leave but your breakfast-table for a moment, and as you return, the rustling of hurrying 

 wings, the marks of many feet on the white table-cloth, the gashes in the pat of butter, and the 

 disappearance of plantains and small viands, proclaim who have been the robbers. The old " hopper 



