CALL.EATINJ-: 
nostrils entirely liidden by the basal velvety plumes. Wings moderate and rounded, with the fifth 
and sixth quills the longest. Tail lengthened and graduated, with the ends of the feathers widening 
and obtuse. Tai^si longer than the middle toe, and covered with broad scales. Toes long, with the 
lateral toes unequal, the outer toe the longest ; the hind toe long and strong ; the claws long, curved, 
and acute. 
The typical species of this genus frequents, in small flocks, the open places or the skirts of the forests of India and its 
isles. It prefers the localities recently cleared for cultivation, as In sucli places it easily procures an abundant supply 
of various kinds of insects. Its flight Is heavy and slow, generally performed only for a short distance from tree to tree 
In search of fruits and berries, at the same time uttering a harsh rather melancholy cry. If distui-bcd. It usually hides 
itself In thick foliage until the cause of alarm has disappeared. 
C. varia (Lath.) Vieill. Gal. iles Ois. t. 100. — Phrenothiix Misc. pi. .Ofil. ; C. temm Dn ml. Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. oG. 
temia Homf. Zool. Res. in Java, pi. 7- ; Coi vus caudatus Shnw, Nat. 
Ptilostomus Sxi-ains.* 
Bill long, smooth, with the culmen at the base elevated and curved to the tip ; the sides compressed, 
the lateral margins rather curved, and the gonys of the lower mandible long and straight ; the nostrils 
basal, lateral, rounded, and concealed by the frontal plumes. Wings long, with the first quill half the 
length of the third ; this latter, with the fourth and fifth, the longest. Tail lengthened, much graduated, 
and the end of each feather acute. Tarsi long, much longer than the middle toe, and covered in front 
w^th broad scales. Toes moderate, strongly scaled, with the outer toe shorter than the inner, and united 
at the base ; the claws long, strong, and curved. 
The continent of Africa is the peculiar country of the birds that compose tliis genus. They are seen In flocks of 
about twenty Individuals together, perched on the upper branches of the lofty trees. Their food consists of fruits and 
insects. The nest Is usually built on tlie tops of the highest trees, and Is defended with thorns, leaving only an opening 
on one side. 
1. P. senegalensis (Linn.) PI. enl. 538. — Corvus ater Linn.; 
Coracids nigra Lath. ; Corvus piapiac Daud, Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. 
t, 54. 
2. .'' P. poicilarhynchus (Wagl.) Syst.Av. sp. 2. 
3. V. ritfigaster (Lath.) Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 55. — Corvus 
octopennatus Daud. ; C. ventralis Shaw. 
CONOSTO iM A HodgS. f 
Bill short, with the culmen and lateral margins equally curved to the tip, which is obtuse and entire ; 
the sides much compressed ; the nostrils rounded, with the opening surrounded by a membrane and 
* Established by Mr. Swainson in 1837 {Class of Birds, ii. p. 266.). 
t Established by Mr. Hodgson in 1842 {Jonrn. As. Soc. Beng. 1841, p. 857-)- 
