538 



8 



near Altenkirchen in March. In Belgium, Luxemburg, and Holland it is common and resident, 

 being found both on the shores and inland. Mr. Labouchere assures me that these shore- 

 frequenting Crows never place their nests on trees, but build on the ground, which would 

 appear to be a curious circumstance should it prove to be the rule and not exceptional. It 

 arises, he says, from the fact that trees are scarce in these localities. 



Throughout France it is a common resident, and appears to^be, to a large extent, a winter 

 resident in the southern provinces, though it is stated by Baron J. W. von Miiller to breed in 

 some parts of Provence. In Portugal it is stated by Professor Barboza du Bocage to be 

 uncommon; but in Spain, Mr. Saunders says (Ibis, 1871, p. 221), it is resident throughout the 

 year, being tolerably abundant. Dr. Brehm, however, did not personally observe it when 

 collecting in Spain. Passing eastward, again, I find it recorded by Bailly as being common in 

 Savoy during the greater portion of the year, though some leave during the winter It does not, 

 however, breed in Lombardy; and Savi speaks of it as being very rare in Tuscany. Doderlein 

 considers it to be rare in the Modenese, and records a solitary example as having recently been 

 obtained near Naples. It appears to be very doubtful as to whether it occurs in Sicily, as none 

 of the Sicilian naturalists have obtained it, and its occurrence rests solely on the authority of 

 Malherbe. Both Von der Muhle and Lindermayer speak of it as a permanent resident in 

 Greece ; on the coast vast flocks retire to roost on the rocky islands, and so soon as the day 

 breaks they return to the mainland for the day. 



It occurs in Southern Germany, being, according to Dr. A. Fritsch (J. f. O. 1871, p. 203), 

 common in the mountains of Bohemia, but is not found in the lowlands, nor could he obtain a 

 specimen from near Prague. Mr. Stejneger speaks of it (J. f. O. 1871, p. 123) as being veiy 

 abundant in the southern parts of Tyrol. Mr. Seidensacher informed me that it winters in 

 Styria, but that he never found it breeding there ; and the Bitter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen says 

 that it occurs in Southern Austria. Dr. Otto Finsch speaks of it as being very common in the 

 lowlands of Bulgaria; and I have seen it in Wallachia and Servia; but Messrs. Elwes and 

 Buckley say that they never observed it in Turkey. 



In Southern Russia it is stated by Von Nordmann to be not uncommon, and in the provinces 

 skirting the eastern side of the Black Sea more numerous than C. comix. It also occurs in the 

 Caucasus ; but Canon Tristram never observed it in Palestine ; nor does it appear to occur in 

 North-east Africa, being there replaced by C. comix. 



In North-west Africa, however, it is said by Loche to be common in the wooded portions of 

 Algeria, though later ornithologists do not confirm this statement, and it is possible that his 

 remarks refer to C. tingitanus, which is common there. Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake states that 

 he met with it in Tangier and Eastern Morocco, where, he says (Ibis, 1867, p. 428), it is "very 

 common." Dr. H. Dohrn includes it in his list of birds occurring in the Cape-Verd Islands 

 (J. f. O. 1871, p. 5) ; but it does not seem to have been met with in Madeira or the Canaries. 



To the eastward the range of the common Crow extends as far as Japan ; but it does not 

 occur in the southern portion of Asia. Mr. Blanford did not meet with it in Persia, and says 

 that it appears to be unknown there. It is, however, recorded from India by Dr. Jerdon, who 

 inserts it in his 'Birds of India' (ii. p. 295) on the authority of Dr. Adams, who says that it is 

 common in Cashmere. Mr. W. E. Brooks found it breeding in Cashmere ; but it appears to be 



