94 PASSERES. 



60. CORVUS CORAX, 



(RAVEN.) 

 Corvns corax, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766). 



The Raven is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 19^ to 16 inches) 

 ■with a very thick bill. The feathers of the mantle resemble those of 

 the Carrion-Crow in being glossed with greenish purple and in 

 having nearly white bases. The feathers of the upper breast as well 

 as those of the throat are lanceolate. 



Figures : Dresser^ Birds of Europe, iv. pi. 265. fig. 1. 



The Raven breeds in the Kurile Islands, where its presence was 

 long ago recorded (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 380), but it is 

 not known to have occurred in Japan proper. I have an example 

 which Captain Blakiston sent me (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 31), and 

 there is a second in the Pryer collection, both obtained by Mr. Snow 

 in the Kurile Islands. 



The Raven is a circumpolar species, inhabiting the whole of the 

 Palsearctic and Nearctic Regions, except Japan, where its place 

 appears to be taken by Corvus macrorhynchus, the Raven of the 

 Oriental Region. 



The Raven from the Commaiyier Islands has been described by 

 Dr. Dybowski and by Dr. Stejneger as a distinct species, on the 

 ground of a difference in the wing-formula. An example from 

 the Kurile Islands and four examples from the valley of the Yenesay 

 agree in having the 4th primary the longest, the 3rd a little shorter, 

 and the 5th a trifle shorter still ; whilst the 1st primary is between 

 the 7th and 8th. This agrees with European examples. 



61. CORVUS MACRORHYNCHUS. 



(ORIENTAL RAVEN.) 



Corvus macrorhynchus, Wagler, Systema Avium, p. 311 (1827). 



The Japanese race of the Oriental Raven is intermediate in size, 

 and in some other characters, between the Common Raven and the 

 Common Crow (wing from carpal joint 14^ to 13^ inches) ; but its 

 bill is as thick as that of the Common Raven (upper mandible at 

 nostrils "8 inch high). The feathers of the mantle differ from 

 both these species in having a greener gloss and much darker bases. 



