Frederick D. Welch—Some Crows



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from Iris experiences in Gambian region ? Perhaps he could say also

whether white varieties (all plumage) are at all common in the species—

analogous to varieties in our native Kook ?


When looking at individuals of this pied Crow in captivity, the white

afore-mentioned, which is normal, seemed to me to suggest the possibility

that the black parts would be more likely to freak into abnormal white

in occasional individuals (thereby producing an all-white bird) than

would the plumage of one or other of the Crow tribe which was all¬

black in its normal condition. Any information about its habits would

be of interest, it seems to me.


Reference to the “true Crows” above-mentioned, with their stout

bills, recalls to my mind an amusing affair with a friend of mine, which

happened in 1903. Being informed that my friend had “ bought a

Chough Crow ”, I expected to see one of the birds not far removed

scientifically from true Crows, and known as Red-billed Chough

(Graculus eremita )—also sometimes called the Red-legged Crow, as,

for instance, by Jardine in 1827, when he visited the Isle of Man,

where these birds were very abundant—a bird with comparatively

slender beak. However, when my friend and I reached the shop to

bring the “ Chough Crow ” away, I saw at once that it was a Jackdaw !


My friend had paid the money and seemed delighted with the bird,

which was very tame, and the old shopkeeper seemed genuinely

ignorant as to differences between Chough and Jackdaw, and so it seemed

to me best to leave them alone after remarking : “ Why, it is exactly


like the Jackdaw I kept at Devonport, which came down the chimney as

a young one ! ” Still, they both regarded “ Jack ” as a Chough ; and

so the bird was termed on the receipted bill, and we brought it away.

All tea-time we argued about the delightful pet, but my friend would

stick to her “ Chough ”, and so we agreed good-naturedly to differ

about its name ; and to bridge over the disputed point, I suggested the

name of “ Jack Chough ” for the pet (what its sex was seemed

immaterial!), and so it got called.


Some months later my friend told me she had been in the Natural

Jlistory Museum, South Kensington, and arrived at the conclusion that

“ Jack Chough ” was really a Jackdaw even though purchased as a

Chough.



