1911.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. CXXXi 
The following abstract is published :— 
The author maintains that the Panjab Raven is distinct 
enough from the Himalayan Raven to be regarded as a distinct 
species, and should not be united with it into the Corvus corax 
of Linneus. Hume recorded the Plains Raven as different in 
note, in the sheen of the plumage, and Oates noted it as 
different in the character and shape of the throat hackles. 
It is a smaller bird :— 
Himalayan Raven. Plains Raven. 
Length 55” —28” 23°75” — 24°75” 
Wing 17°:25”—19-3” 16°3’— 1 
Tail ‘a : 10°75’—11°5” 
Bill from gape oe ae 25” 2°8” 
Bill straight from forehead to point.. 3°05’— 3°18” 2°69”— 2°82” 
i l Rea 18" if 
eight of closed mandibles 
arsus eae . 2°5”— 3” 2°3” 
Weight, male 2 lb. ll ozs. 2 1b, to 2 lb. 2 ozs. 
Oates attributed this disparity to climatic influences. 
He says the immense size of the Himalayan birds is due to 
their being dwellers ‘‘in a cold, bracing climate,’’ whereas the 
phere ’’—have dwindled down to a small size as compared with 
the former. If correctly, then how can the contrary difference 
observed in the jungle crow be explained? For, in the case 
of the jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchus), individuals from the 
North-Western Himalaya are actually smaller than those from 
Southern Hindustan and Burma. 
It can hardly be that the Himalayan Raven is better fed 
than the Plains Raven. Bower remarked in his ‘‘ Across 
Tibet’’ that it was hard to know on what they ordinarily 
lived. They came about his camps; ‘‘ and are not shy birds,’’ 
as Oates says. The author has collected the evidence of several 
travellers to their boldness. 
There is a need for extended observations on the Himalayan 
Raven—(i) to what extent does it show a slight seasonal 
migration ? (ii) when does it nest ?—Mandelli took the eggs in 
Native Sikkim high up towards the snows on March 5th: 
Stoliczka noted the bird building on May 4th at Aktash: and 
Walton found young on the ledge of a rock near the Kala Tso 
Lake in Tibet on April 6th; (iii) does it habitually nest on 
cliffs ? and (iv) in successive years on the same site ¢ (v) what is 
the number of eggs ? (vi) do both birds share in hatching them ? 
and (vii) how long do the young stay in the nest ¢ 
The author adds some observations on the nidification of 
the Plains Raven. Five is the usual number of eggs: they lay 
from January to first half of March, but most eggs are to be 
taken in February : the eggs vary in length from 1-71” to 2°26", 
and in breadth from 1:22” to 1:39”: the nest is built 18—24 
feet from the ground of sticks, lined with rags, sheep’s wool, 
