563 



COEVUS TINGITANUS. 



(IRBY'S RAVEN.) 



Corvus corax, Webb & Berthelot, Orn. Canar. p. 9 (1841, nee Linn.). 

 Corvus, sp. 1 ?, Taczanowski, Journ. fur Orn. 1870, p. 48. 

 Corvus tingitanus, Irby, Ibis, 1874, p. 264. 

 Corvus corax, auctt. orn. Afr. Sept. (nee Linn.). 



Ad. Corvo coraci similis, sed multo minor, rostro breviore, robusto, alis brevioribus, juguli plumis elongatis 

 latioribus, alis supra brunrxeo tinctis. 



Adult Female (Tangier, 26th April) . Resembles C. corax, but is much smaller, has the lanceolate feathers, 

 which extend only over the upper part of the neck, broader, and to a slight extent bifurcate ; the bill 

 is short and stout, and the wing short; entire plumage glossy black, with steely reflections; upper 

 surface of the wings tinged with brown. Total length about 16"5 inches, culmen 2*5, height of culmen 

 at base l'O, wing 13 - 8, tail 7 - 75, tarsus 2*5. 



Aftee a careful comparison of the specimens of this small North-west African Raven, brought 

 home by Colonel Irby, with a large series of Corvus corax from various parts of the world, I 

 cannot do otherwise than recognize it as a distinct species, though closely allied to the common 

 Raven of Europe. Colonel Irby compares it to Corvus affinis ; but I do not find it so nearly 

 allied to that as to C. corax, of which in fact it is a small form. C. affinis has extremely long 

 wings and a short tail, the elongated feathers on the throat are very distinctly bifurcate, and the 

 bristles are directed vertically upwards, which characters are wanting in the present species. As 

 yet it is rather difficult to define the range of this Raven ; but it seems to be confined to North- 

 west Africa, Madeira, and the Canaries, and to be common in Algeria and Morocco, where it 

 is resident, and probably never crosses the Mediterranean. Colonel Irby (t. c. p. 265) writes as 

 follows : — " This Raven is excessively abundant around Tangier, and in the low flat country which 

 I have visited in Morocco, but does not appear so much to frequent high mountainous districts. 

 Outside Tangier flocks of them may be seen feeding on the refuse which is carried from the 

 town and thrown down on the sea-shore. Exceedingly tame to the natives, being viewed with 

 superstitious awe by the Moors, they are wide awake to the European, especially if he carries 

 a gun ; and I found great difficulty in shooting them, except at the nest, which, constructed of 

 sticks neatly lined with grass and small roots, is built in clefts of rocks, on trees, and low 

 bushes. One nest which I saw was fixed in the crook or angle formed by a dead flowering 

 stalk of the aloe, which had fallen across another stalk in full flower. The eggs, usually laid 

 about the 20th April, vary in number from five to seven, and, like those of others of the Crow 

 tribe, differ much in the markings." 



This Raven likewise inhabits Algeria, as Mr. Taczanowski met with a Raven in that country 

 which, as is clearly shown by his description and measurements, cannot have been any other than 



