358 



A VES— ORDER PASSER/FORMES. 



their powers of song, just as the monkeys are placed at the head' of the 

 Mammalia on account of their man-like aspect ; but in our opinion, the 

 crows (Gorvidce) are at the head of the Fasseriformes, being, with the 

 exception of their want of song, the most perfectly developed of birds. 

 The wing of a crow exhibits in its fullest perfection the power of flight, 

 every wing-covert and quill being shown in the most complete develop- 

 ment. The same is seen in the feet of a crow, where all the scales on 

 the tarsi and toes are more strongly indicated than in any other passerine 

 bird. 



The colour of the crows is black or decidedly sombre, as a rule, only 



relieved by brighter plumage in the case of the magpies (Pica), jays 



{Oarrulus), and the beautiful blue jays of America (Oyam- 



The Crows. — cnrax, Xanthura), etc. All these forms belong to the true 



Family Corvidce. crows (OorDwice), of which our look (Trypmicoraxfrugilegus), 



carrion crow {Corone corone), magpie {Pica pica), and jay 



{Garrulus glandarius) are typical examples. They all have the nostrils placed 



high in the mandible, whereas the choughs (sub-family Fregilhm} have the 



nostril placed low in the mandible, nearer to its lower margin than to its 



upper one. In the Fregiliiue we find four genera: Chacuhts, with our own 



red-billed chough (Q. gracidus), Fyrrhocorax, with its single species, P. 



pyrrhocorax, the Alpine chough, and Gorcorax, with a single Australian species, 



the white-winged chough (0. mclanwhamphus). The most interestmg of this 



group of birds, however, are 

 the desert-choughs (Pocfciccs). 

 Of these there are four species, 

 all confined to the desert re- 

 gions of Central Asia from 

 Buchara to Turkestan and 

 Thibet. They are sandy-col- 

 oured birds, like most desert- 

 haunting creatures, but with 

 brighter heads and wings : P. 

 paiideri from Buchara was the 

 first species of the genus to 

 be described, but nothing has 

 been recorded of its habits. 

 F. hendersoni from Tarkand 

 is better known, and Dr. 

 Henderson says that they al- 

 ways kept in pairs, and moved about from one sand-hill to another, seem- 

 ingly searching for insects in the sand. The stoma-chs, however, were 

 filled with grain, picked out of the horse-dung in the road. The eggs of 

 P. panderi are like those of crows, but one species, P. humilis, lays white 

 eggs. 



The crows are all ambulatores or walkers, but there is no proof that the 

 birds of paradise progress by walking steps, when on the ground. On the 

 contrary, the Faradiseidce are entirely forest birds. They 

 differ from the true crows in the structure of the feet, the 

 outer toe being longer than the inner one but shorter than 

 the middle one. Their fantastic plumage is their chief char- 

 acteristic, but the nest and eggs are corvine, and the 

 paradise birds are really nothing but gaudy-coloured crows. 



Fig. 93.— Pandbb's Deseet-Chouqh (Podoces panderi). 



The Birds of 



Paradise. — 



Family 



Faradiseidce. 



