272 CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



but we cannot speak with any certainty on this point, as naturalists are still quite unacquainted with 

 its habits. This species would seem to form a connecting link between the Ravens and the Vultures 

 birds between which there is usually but little similarity. The beak of the Bald-headed Crow is 

 comparatively weak, but slightly curved, and covered at its base with a cere in place of the bristles 

 that are generally so characteristic of the Raven tribe. The wings are powerful and rounded, the 

 tail long and graduated, and the feet high and furnished with strong toes. The head is entirely bare, 

 and the throat, like that of the Vulture, overspread with bristly or down-like feathers. The plumage 

 is of a brownish grey above and white beneath ; the wings and tail are reddish brown, the bare or 

 sparingly covered neck red, the beak black, and the feet yellow. According to Gray, this bird is 

 about fifteen inches long, the wing measures rather more than six inches, and the tail six inches and 

 ten lines. 



The TREE CROWS, or JAYS (Garruli), are distinguished from the Ravens by their blunt 

 short beaks, with or without a hook at the extremity, their weak feet and very short rounded wings, 

 long graduated tails, and rich variegated plumage, which is generally very soft and flocculent. Unlike 

 the members of the preceding family, the various species of Jays pass the greater part of the day in 

 flying from tree to tree in their favourite woods, seldom coming to the ground, and still more rarely 

 congregating in large flocks. Owing to the comparative shortness of their wings, their flight is 

 unsteady, and they are therefore incapable of attaining to any considerable height, or of hovering in 

 or whirling through the air ; still more inelegant is their mode of progression on the ground, it being 

 nothing more than a ludicrous attempt at a hop : upon the trees, however, they are quite at their ease, 

 and some even exhibit unusual facility in climbing. In the perfection of their senses they are in no 

 way inferior to the family above described, but their intelligence is not nearly so great, and they must 

 be rather considered sly than clever; indeed, in many points they resemble the Shrike, possessing 

 all the murderous cruelty and rapacity of that bird, without any of the courage, and boldness that 

 seem to palliate the atrocities committed by Ravens. They will mercilessly destroy and plunder the 

 nests of other birds, and eat almost any animal or vegetable food, frequently doing great damage by 

 their raids upon orchards, fields, and gardens, thus bringing down upon themselves the vengeance of 

 man. In their habits during the period of incubation they also differ widely from the preceding 

 family, inasmuch as they never build associated together in large numbers, but quite apart from each 

 other ; their nests, moreover, are small, and the brood is usually composed of from five to seven eggs. 

 When tamed, some of them are capable of imitating words, and of learning to whistle tunes, but 

 they are extremely troublesome, owing to the numberless petty thefts and annoying tricks in which 

 they delight. 



We shall divide the Tree Crows or Jays into several groups, all more or less recognisable by the 

 following characters : — Their bodies are slender, their Raven-like beaks are as long as the head, nearly 

 straight, and provided at the base with a cere, instead of bristly feathers ; the wings are short, and 

 their third and fourth quills longer than the rest ; the tail, which is composed of twelve feathers, is 

 either very long and wedge-shaped, or of moderate length and rounded at the extremity. The lax and 

 soft plumage frequently becomes flowing towards the head, thus forming a kind of crest, and is usually 

 bright in its coloration. 



THE MAGPIE. 

 The Magpie {Pica caudata) stands first upon our list, as being familiar to us all, and also 

 because it presents many characteristics that associate it with the family of Ravens — indeed, it might 



