414 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSEEES ^ OSCINES. 



from New England, Hudson's Bay, the Saskatchewan and Rocky Mts. to Texas and the 

 Gulf States. 

 337. Q. p. aglae'us. (Gr. dyXaios, (iglaios, splendid.) Florida Crow Blackbird. Green 

 Grackle. Birds resident in S. Florida are smaller than average purpureus, with relatively 

 longer and slenderer bill more decurved at tip ; the body lustre chiefly greenish ; head and neck 

 chiefly violaceous steel-blue ; wings and tail steel-blue, becoming violet on the coverts. Aver- 

 aging an inch less in length than purpureas, and other parts in proportion, excepting the bill 

 and feet, which are quite as long. (§. haritus, Bd., 1858, nee auet. Q. aglceiis, Bd., 1866.) 



18. Family CORVID^ : Crows, Jays, etc. 



Cultrirofiiral Oscines with 10 prima- 

 ries. — A rather large and important 

 family, comprising such familiar birds 

 as ravens, crows, rooks, jackdaws, 

 magpies, jays, with their allies, and a 

 few diverging forms not so well known ; 

 nearly related to the famf)us birds of 

 paradise. There are 10 primaries, of 

 whicli the 1st is short, generally about 

 half as long as the 2d, and several 

 outer ones are more or less sinuate- 

 attenuate on the inner web toward the 

 end. The tail has 12 rectrices, as usual 

 amtuig higher birds ; it varies much 

 in shape, but is generally rounded — 

 sometimes extremely graduated, as in 

 the magpie ; and is not forked in any 

 of our forms. * The tarsus has scutella 

 in front, separated on one or both sides 

 from the rest of the tarsal envelope 

 by a groove, sometimes naked, some- 

 times filled in by small scales. The 

 biU is stout, about as long as the head 

 or shorter, tapering, rather acute, generally notched, with convex culmcn; it lacks the com- 

 missural angulation of the Fringillida and Icterida, the deep cleavage of the Hirmidimda, 

 the slendemess of the Certhiida, SitiidcE, and most small insectivorous birds. The rictus 

 usually has a few stiffish bristles, and there are others about the base of the bill. An essentia] 

 cliaract.er is seen in the dense covering of the nostrils with large long tufts of close-pressed 

 anti'orse bristly feathers (excepting, among our forms, in Oymnocitta and Psilorhinus). These 

 last features distinguish the CorvidcB from aU our other birds excepting Paridce; the mutual 

 resemblance is here so close, that I cannot point out any obvious technical character of external 

 f(5rm to distinguish, for example, Cyanocitta from Loplioplimies, or Perisoreus from Pants. 

 But as already remarked, size is here perfectly distinctive, aU the Corrida being much larijor 

 birds than any of the Paridce. 



Owing to the uniformity of color in the leading groups of the family, and an apparent 

 plasticity of organization in many fonns, the number of species is difficult to determine, and 

 is very variously estimated by diff'ercnt writers. Mr. G. R. Gray admits upwards of 200, 

 which lie distributes iu 50 genera and subgenera; but these figures are certainly excessive. 



Pig. 266. —European Jackdaw (Corvus moneilula.) (From 

 Dixon.) 



