204 AVES. 



The Hooded Crow (C. comix, Lin.)-— Ash-coloured, with black head, tail, and wins^s. Is less frugivorous, and 

 frequents the sea-shore, preying on shelled moUusks, &c. ; [feeds much on carrion and garbage]. Naumann 

 assures us that it often breeds with the black Crow, and produces fertile offspring [the truth being, we believe, 

 that black varieties of the Hooded Crow now and then occur, as is indeed said to be the case by several authors.] 



The Jackdaw (C. monedida, Lin.).— A fourth shorter than the three last, or about the size of a Pigeon, and black, 

 with a pale gray nape ; Iiuilds in steeples, old towers, &c., [and the holes of trees,] lives in flocks, and subsists on 

 the same regimen as the others, frequently flying with them. Predatory birds have no enemy more vigilant. 

 [These are the British species, and there are many more : one (C. gpermologux, Vieillot) inhabits central Europe]. 



The Magpies {Pica, Cuv.) — 

 Are less tlian the Crows, [and slighter built] ; have also the upper mandible more arcuated than the 

 lower, and the tail long and much graduated. 



The European Magpie (Corv. pica, Lin.)— A very handsome bird, of a silky black, with purple, blue, and bronzed 

 reflections ; the belly white, and a great white patch over each wing. Its continual chattering has rendered it 

 celebrated. It prefers the neighbourhood of human habitations, and subsists on all sorts of food, even carrying 

 off young poultry. [Specimens from North America are undistinguishable; but there is another species in that 

 continent, with a yellow bill, and differently bronzed tail (P. Niittalli, Aud.); and we have seen a species from 

 Norway, hitherto undescribed, much smaller in all its proportions than the common Magjjie, with tail resembling 

 that of the Yellow-billed species. We will term it P. scandiaca. 



There are several birds nearly allied, with magnificent azure plumage ; and some with shorter bills, and more 

 strictly arboreal conformation, as the Indian P. vagabunda, which compose the Dendrocitta of Gould]. 



The Jays (Garrulus, Cuv.) — 

 Have both mandibles slightly elongated, and terminated by a sudden curve ; when the tail is gradu- 

 ated, the bill is more lengthened ; and the frontal feathers, lax and disunited, are more or less erected 

 when the bird is excited. 



The European Jay {Corv. glandarius, Lin.) is a handsome bird, of a vinaceous-grey colour, with black quills 

 and moustaches, and a beautiful mottled patch on each wing, rayed with bright blue. It subsists principally on 

 acorns during the season. Is very imitative, and nestles in our woods, living in pairs or families. [There are two 

 closely allied species— the Syrian Jay, distinguished by a black crown, and that of Japan, which has black cheeks ; 

 the proportions of the ornamental patch on the wing are also different. Other proximate species occur on tlie 

 Ilimmalaya mountains. 



The Jays with longer and more slender bills, and graduated tails, are all smaller, and constitute the Cyanocorax 

 of Boie, in part. There are four species in North America, of which the well-known Blue Jay (G. cristatus) affords 

 a familiar example. A species of this group occurs on the Hinimalaya mountains of Asia, and we are disposed also 

 to refer to it the Pica cyanea, Wagler, common in Spain. The Whiskev-jacks (Pcrisoreus, Bonap.) compose another 

 small natural group, scarcely differing from the Pari in structure, and but little in habit : the European Curv. 

 infaustus, Lin., and C. canadensis, Liu., of North America, belong to it.] 



The Nutcrackers {Caryocatactes, Cuv. ; Niicifraga, Vieillot) — 

 Have both mandibles equally pointed, straight, and without curvature. 



The European Nutcracker (Corv. caryocafacfes, Lin.).— Brown, speckled with whitish all over the body. It nes- 

 tles in the holes of trees, in dense mountain forests ; climbs trees and perforates their bark, like the Woodpeckers; 

 devours aU sorts of fruit, insects, and small birds ; and sometimes comes in flocks into the plains, but w ithout 

 regularity. Is celebrated for its confidence. [There is a larger species, closely allied, on the Himmalayas ; and a 

 third in America, without any spots, the Corvus columbianus, Wilson]. 



The Temia, Vaillant {Crypsirina, Vieillot; PhrenotrLv, Horsfield), — 

 With the front and tail of the Magpies, combines an elevated bill, and bulged upper mandible, the 

 base of which is adorned with velvety feathers, nearly as in the Birds of Paradise. 



The first-known species (Corv. variaiis, Latham), is of a bronzed green colour. These birds are found in Africa 

 and India. 



The Glaucopis, Forster, — 



A similar beak and front, but two fleshy caruncles at the base of the bill. 



The known species (Gl. cinerea. Lath.), inhabits New Holland, and is the size of a Magpie, blackish, with a 

 graduated tail ; it lives on insects and berries, seldom perches, and is esteemed good eating. 



The Rollers {Coracias, Lin.) — 

 Have a strong beak, compressed towards the tip, with the point of the upper mandible a little hooked ; 

 oblong nostrils placed at a slight distance from the plumage, and not covered by incumbent feathers ; 

 the feet short and stout [with their outer and middle toes free to the articulation]. They are peculiar 

 to the eastern hemisphere, and bear some resemblance to the Jays in their manners, and in their lax 

 frontal feathers ; are vividly coloured, but in general not harmoniously. 



