THE COMMON "BIRDS OF THE 

 WESTERN HIMALAYAS 



THE CORVID^ OR CROW FAMILY 



This family, which is well represented in the 

 Himalayas, includes the true crows, with their 

 allies, the choughs, pies, jays, and tits. 



The common Indian house-crow {Corvus 

 sflendens), with which every Anglo-Indian is 

 only too familiar, loveth not great altitudes, 

 hence does not occur in any of the higher hill 

 stations. Almora is the one place in the hills 

 where he appears to be common. There he 

 displays all the shameless impudence of his 

 brethren in the plains. 



The common crow of the Himalayas is the 



large all-black species which is known as the 



Indian corby or jungle crow (C. macro- 



rhynchus). Unlike its grey-necked cousin, this 



bird is not a public nuisance ; nevertheless it 



occasionally renders itself objectionable by 



carrying off a chicken or a tame pigeon. In 



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