Crows.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



343 



dark green, blotched with black. Ravens are ge- 

 nerally seen, like the crow, in pairs, but sometimes 

 during the winter in small companies of eight or 

 ten; their flight is high, and they often wheel and 

 tumble in the air. This bird, arrayed in glossy 

 blue-black plumage, is often kept tame, and soon 

 becomes very familiar ; often indeed mischievously 

 so, from its propensity to secrete glittering articles, 

 as keys, glass, silver, and the like ; nor are eggs or 

 the poultry of the yard quite secure from its incur- 

 sions. It is very daring in self-defence. Mr. 

 Thompson states that one which lived in the yard 

 attached to the chief inn at Antrim for about, fif- 

 teen years, had occasional encounters with game- 

 cocks, brought thither to engage it; and bets were 

 pending on the issue. The raven in every instance 

 proved the victor ; it avoided the blows of the 

 cock, and acted only on the defensive until it could 

 manage to lay hold of tha cock's head, which was 

 in an instant crushed in its powerful beak, its anta- 

 gonist falling lifeless on the ground. The length of 

 the raven is twenty-six inches. 



1537.— The Royston Crow 

 (Corvus Comix); Hooded Crow ; Grey Crow. It is 

 the Corneille mantelee of the French ; Kraka of 

 the Swedes ; Grau Kriihe of the Germans ; Mulac- 

 chia, Cornacchia, and Corvo palumbino of the Ita- 

 lians. This species is widely spread over Europe, 

 being migratory, except in Italy, according to the 

 Prince of Camno ; and in Ireland, as Mr. Thompson 

 assures us, and the western and northern parts of 

 Scotland. It was found at Smyrna by Mr. Strick- 

 land, and it inhabits the Grecian Archipelago, the 

 countries between the Black and Caspian Seas. 

 Latham states that it is common in some parts of 

 India. 



In the southern parts of England the hooded crow 

 is a winter visitor, departing northwards in April ; 

 though there are instances of its remaining during 

 the summer to breed. In the north and west, of 

 Scotland, and in the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shet- 

 land Isles, it is very common; and also in Ireland, 

 frequenting the seashore and the banks of tidal 

 rivers; but it is also to be seen far inland. It 

 builds on rocks, as well as in tall trees, the beech or 

 pine being usually selected. Mollusks, crabs, and 

 the dead animal matters left by the retiring tide 

 are its common articles of diet; and it has-been 

 often observed to soar aloft, and drop a shell-fish on 

 the rocks from ils elevation, in order, as is asserted, 

 to obtain the included delicacy. Daring the 

 breeding-season it is very destructive, according to 

 Mr. Selby, to the eggs and young of the red grouse, 

 and, like the raven, will frequently attack lambs and 

 weakly sheep. It is generally seen in pairs but 

 sometimes in small flocks. The plumage of this 

 species is of a fine ash-grey, excepting the head, 

 throat, wings, and tail, which are black, with blue 

 and green reflexions. Length twenty-two inches. 



1538.— The Rook 



(Corvus frugilegits), Head and Foot. Graye, 

 Grolle, Freux, and Frayonne of the French ; 

 Schwartze Krahe of the Germans ; Roka of the 

 Swedes ; Cornacchia nera and Cornacchione of the 

 Italians ; Ydfran of the ancient British. 



The rook is spread over the greater portion of 

 Europe, wherever suitable districts invite its coloniza- 

 tion. Wooded and cultivated tracts of country are 

 its favourite haunts, and in our island it is particu- 

 larly abundant- In its habits it is eminently gre- 

 garious, associating in flocks, which scatter 'them- 

 selves over fields and corn-lands in quest of food. 

 They follow the track of the plough or the harrow, 

 clearing the soil of grubs, the larvse of the chaffer- 

 beetle (Melolantha vulgaris) and of the Harry- 

 long-legs (Tipula oleracea), which are particularly 

 destructive to the roots of grain and clover. The 

 service they render the farmer in this respect is 

 very great, and far counterbalances the mischief 

 they may do in fields where the young blades of 

 wheat are just starting above the ground, or by 

 picking up the newly-planted " cuttings" of pota- 

 toes, to the detriment of the crop. The rook does 

 not in fact deserve the name of corn-eater or corn- 

 gatherer (frugilegus), and Mr. Selby asserts that 

 wherever its extirpation has been effected, the most 

 serious injury to the corn and other crops has 

 invariably followed, from the unchecked devasta- 

 tions of the grub and caterpillar. In orchards and 

 gardens the rook occasionally does mischief, from 

 its partiality to ripe cherries, pears, and walnuts, 

 soon stripping the trees of their produce. But all 

 the injury which this bird commits may be easily 

 obviated by attentive watching at the proper time, 

 and its services thus secured unalloyed. While en- 

 gaged on their foraging expeditions, these birds 

 display much cunning and precaution ; they have 

 sentinels scattered around the main body, upon 

 whose cry of alarm they all rise upon the wing and 

 sail away. The very sight of a gun is sufficient to 

 disturb them, and hence it is often said that "rooks 



smell powder." As evening approaches, long strings 

 of these birds, at a considerable elevation, may be 

 seen wending their way to their roosting-place. In 

 the early spring, the rooks are all on the alert, busy 

 in their rookery, repairing the old nests and con- 

 structing new ones ; all is noise and bustle, and 

 many are the squabbles about the right of slicks 

 and wool, till the nests are all ultimately completed. 

 When the females begin to lay, they are fed by the 

 males, and, as Gilbert "White says, receive their 

 bounty with a fond tremulous voice and fluttering 

 wings, and all the little blandishments that are ex- 

 pressed by the young in a helpless state. This 

 gallant, deportment of the males is continued during 

 the whole season of incubation. Fig. 1539 repre- 

 sents a rookery. The partiality of these birds to 

 their accustomed breeding-places is notorious, so 

 that though their trees, once in the fields, become 

 in process of time encircled by buildings, they still 

 remain inhabited by the colony. There were 

 formerly rookeries in different parts of the metro- 

 polis : one is on record as havingbeenlongfrequented 

 in the Temple Gardens. There was another ex- 

 tensive, establishment in the Gardens of Carlton 

 Palace, which, when the trees were cut down in the 

 spring of 1827, was removed to the trees behind 

 New Street, Spring Gardens ; and there is one on 

 the trees near Fife House, at the back of White- 

 hall. The trees in St. Dunstan's Churchyard, not 

 far from the Tower, and those in the College Gar- 

 den behind the Ecclesiastical Court in Doctors' 

 Commons, were formerly tenanted by rooks. At 

 Newcastle a rookery, according to Bingley, existed 

 at no great distance from the Exchange; and it is 

 said that a pair of rooks, after an unsuccessful at- 

 tempt, to establish themselves in it, took refuge on 

 the Exchange, spire, and succeeded in building a 

 nest on the top of the vane, frequenting the same 

 spot every year till 1793, soon after which the spire 

 was taken down. (See Fig. 1540.) 



Around the base of the rook's bill is a space 

 denuded of feathers, which does not appear till the 

 bird is adult, and which is by some attributed to 

 the habit of the bird in thrusting its beak into the 

 earth in quest of grubs and worms, and by which 

 means the feathers are worn away. Whether it 

 results from this cause, or is a specific character 

 (for it occurs in other birds) and indicative of ma- 

 turity, is a question not settled. For ourselves we 

 cannot see how the digging is to produce it, and 

 that too to the same extent in every individual. 



1541. — The Philippine Crow 

 {Corapica Sineiisis, Lesson). This species, with 

 another, the Kitta thalassina of Temminck, consti- 

 tutes the genus Corapica of Lesson, the situation of 

 which is by no means clear. Lesson, though he allows 

 that the genus exhibits the forms of 1 he Rollers and 

 Crows, thinks it would be better placed among the 

 dentirostral group. The true Rollers, we conceive, 

 have little alliance with the Corvidss. 



In this genus the bill is robust, the point is re- 

 curved, and slightly notched, with the nostrils fur- 

 nished with short bristles. 



The present species is a native of the Philippine 

 Islands: it is about eleven inches in length: the 

 bill is red, the legs reddish. The head is crested 

 with loose feathers. General colour of plumage 

 above pale green, clouded with a yellowish-green 

 tint ; a black band encloses the eye and runs round 

 the back of the neck ; throat of a yellowish-green ; 

 lesser wing-coverts brown ; quill-feathers olive on 

 their external edge ; the secondaries terminated 

 with greenish-white. Of his> habits we have no 

 details. 



1542. — The American Blue Jay 

 {Garrulus cristatus). Cyanocorax cristatus, Boie. 

 Our European Jay, with which all are familiar, is a 

 very beautiful bird, but not to be compared with 

 the Blue Jay of America. This elegant species, 

 arrayed in blue varied with purple and white, and 

 barred on the wings and tail with black, is a native 

 of the woods of North America, and is remarkable 

 for its noisy chattering, its variety of tones, its 

 screams, cries, and squalling. It is a shy recluse 

 bird, tenanting the recesses of the forest with its 

 male, but in the months of September and October 

 uniting into flecks of forty or fifty, which straggle 

 irregularly through the woods in search of food, 

 acorns and berries. 



During this season they lose part of their shyness, 

 and keep chattering to each other in a variety of 

 strange and querulous notes. 



The blue jay builds a large nest, frequently in the 

 cedar, sometimes in an apple-tree, and lines it with 

 dry fibrous roots. The eggs, five in number, are of 

 a dull olive, spotted with brown. "The male is 

 particularly careful of not being heard near the 

 place, making his visits as silently and secretly as 

 possible. His favourite food is chestnuts, acorns, 

 and Indian corn; he occasionally feeds on the cater- 

 pillars, and sometimes pays a plundering visit to the 



orchard, cherry-row, and potato patch." He also 

 plunders the nests of small birds of their egirs and 

 young, tearing the callow brood by piecemeal, and 

 spreading alarm and sorrow around him. Sometimes 

 he will assault and kill full-grown birds, as warblers 

 and finches, and devour them. 



To owls and hawks the blue jay manifests the most 

 inveterate antipathy, and joins with others to make 

 a train of persecutors, which daringly annoy and tor- 

 ment the common enemy, till the hawk, singling out 

 the foremost, darts at it, and bears it off in triumph, 

 when in confusion and terror the crowd take flight 

 in different directions. 



In captivity the blue jay soon becomes familiar, 

 and readily learns to utter words and sentences ; 

 but, like all its race, it pilfers everything it can 

 carry away, hiding the stolen effects in various holes 

 and corners. 



The common jay of Europe, too well known to 

 need a detailed description, displays very closely the 

 same habits and manners as its American relative, 

 and is equally noted for its variety of tones and 

 harsh cries, for its plundering propensities, and par- 

 tiality for acorns, beech-mast, &c, as well as for 

 chenies and peas. It breeds in the Ihickest coverts. 

 The nest consists of a cap-shaped basket of matted 

 roots, externally defended by an outer case of inter- 

 twined twigs, which also form a sort of platform, 

 secured to the fork of the branch on which the 

 structure rests. 



The eggs are pale blue, thatched with yellowish 

 brown. Fig. 1543 represents the nest of the Euro- 

 pean jay (Garrulus glandarius). 



1 544. — CRYrSIRINA, 



Bill of. Crypsirina is the generic title given by 

 M.Vieillot to a group of birds termed, by LeVaillant, 

 Temia, and from which the genus Phrenotrix of 

 Dr. Horsfield can scarcely be separated. M. Tem- 

 minck ranges them under the title of Glaucopis. 



Cuvier remarks, that these birds have the carriage 

 and tail of the Magpies, an elevated bill with the 

 upper mandible convex, and the base furnished with 

 velvety feathers, nearly as in the Birds of Paradise. 

 The species most anciently known is, he observes, 

 the Corvus varians of Latham, which is of a bronzed 

 green colour, and found in India and Africa. 



Mr. Swainson thus characterises Crypsirina : — 

 Bill shorter than the head, much compressed ; the 

 culmen considerably arched, and curved from the 

 base. Nostrils small, basal, concealed by incum- 

 bent feathers, which are either soft or setaceous. 

 Wings short, much rounded ; the primaries hardly 

 longer than the secondaries. Tail-feathers broad 

 and obtuse. Feet moderate, arboreal. The middle 

 toe and claw short, but as long as the tarsus. 



1545. — The Wandering Pie 

 {Crypsirina vagabunda). Pica vagabunda, Wag- 

 ler; Dendrocitta vagabunda, Gould. This bird, 

 which is a native of the Himalaya Mountains' 



is thus described by Gould, in his 'Century:' 



" The specific, denomination of this bird is be- 

 stowed upon it in consequence of its peculiar habit 

 of life. The Pica vagabuuda, or Wandering Pie, 

 unlike the typical Pies, who remain constantly sta- 

 tionary in one neighbourhood, seeking for their food 

 in its vicinity, wanders from place to place, travel- 

 ling over a large space of ground, and not evincing 

 a partiality for any particular situation. The shorter 

 tarsus of this bird, indeed, and its more elongated 

 tail, are indicative of trees being its most usual 

 resort, where fruits and berries offer a supply of its 

 natural food ; whereas in the more typical Picse the 

 longer tarsus and more elongated beak fit them for 

 digging in the ground, in which they almost solely 

 seek for subsistence. This species is more widely 

 distributed than any of its congeners, being found 

 in considerable abundance all over India. The 

 head, neck, and crest are of a smoke colour 

 or a blackish grey ; the back light cinnamon ; the 

 centre of the wings grey; the quills black; tail 

 grey, each feather being tipped largely with black ; 

 the under surface is pale-tawny ; the beak and tarsi 

 black. Lengthsixteen inches and a half ; beak one 

 and a quarter; tarsi one and a quarter; tail ten 

 inches." 



1546.— The Benteot 



{Crypsirina Temia). Phrenotrix Temia, Horsfield. 

 Dr. Horsfield, who gives Corvus varians as the 

 synonym of his Phrenotrix Temia (the Chekitut or 

 Benteot of the Javanese), states that although not a 

 rare bird in Java, his Phrenotrix is by no means 

 familiar, and never approaches the villages and 

 habitations, like many others. « It can "only be 

 observed near solitary hamlets situated in tracts 

 recently cleared for cultivation, where its food is 

 abundantly supplied by the insects contained in the 

 rich mould, and by the wild fruit-trees about the 

 skirts. In consequence of the shortness of the wings, 

 its motions are slow ; it is chiefly seen about noon 

 sailing heavily through the air in a right line 



