126° A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT. 
136.—Corvus levaillanti, Less. (660.) 
I cannot concur with Major Biddulph in his view that there 
are two species of Crows of this type in Gilgit.* On the con- 
trary, I am satisfied that we have only one species—the 
Long-tailed Hill-Crow, so common in the Himalayas. The 
supposed difference in habit referred to is merely due to 
season: in winter these Crows affect the lower valleys, 
are gregarious, and circle about in the air in a fashion that 
has often been described; in summer they are found at higher 
elevations, and then, of course, mostly associate In pairs, as 
they are breeding. As to the small size of some of Major 
Biddulph’s specimens, I suggest that these were females, and 
possibly with the wings and tail not fully grown. It is sin- 
gular that a large proportion of these Crows in collections are 
moulting the wing and tail-feathers, so that, without a care- 
ful examination of these parts, some examples may easily be 
considered so small as to represent a distinct race. 
My series of this Crow from Gilgit agrees perfectly with 
Mr. Sharpe’s description of Corone levaillanti (Cat. III., p. 39). 
I do not think that the separation of Corone and Corvus as 
genera, as advocated by Mr. Sharpe (Cat. IIL, p. 5) ean be 
maintained on the shape of the wings. I find two specimens 
of C. sinensis (which is the same as C. levaillanti, and should 
be referred to Corone, according to Saarpe) with the wing of 
Corvus, i.¢., first primary equal to longest secondaries ; while 
the type of C. culminatus (which is Corvus, apud Sharpe) has 
the first primary about an inch shorter than the longest 
secondaries, and would therefore fall under Corone. 
138.—Corvus umbrinus, Hedenb. (660 dis.) 
I think it very improbable that this species occurs in Gilgit. 
C. umbrinus is essentially a bird of the desert and of low eleva- 
tions, and is therefore not at all likely to be found in a highly 
mountainous country at an elevation of 12,000 feet. I never 
saw any true Raven in the Gilgit district ; but some examples 
of C. corax may possibly stray there occasionally. 
139.—Corvus frugilegus, Len. (664 ) 
The Rook is common in the district from the third week in 
October to the third week in April. It keeps aloof from the 
Crows, but associates amicably with the Jackdaws and 
Starlings, the two latter being often found in a flock of Rooks. 
The Gilgit birds agree perfectly with specimens from England 
and Turkestan. 
* Vide S, F,, [X., p. 341 n,—Ep., 8. F. 
