AVIFAUNA OF LAYS AX, ETC. 229 



51. CORVUS HAWAIIENSIS, Peak. 



ALALA. 



Raven, King, Voy. Pacif. Ocean, iii. pp. 119, 1G1 (1784) (Kakooa, Hawaii). 



Corvus tropicus, Bloxam (ncc Gmelin!), Voy. 'Blonde/ p. 250 (1826); Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaiienses, 

 pt. iv. plate & text (1893). 



Corvus hawaiiensis, Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp., Birds, p. 106, pi. xxviii. (1848) ; Hartl. Arch. f. Naturg. 1852, 

 pp. 102 & 13:5; Cass. U.S. Expl. Exp., Maram. & Orn. p. 119, pi. vi. (Hawaii, Mus. Acad. Philad. — 

 Corvus tropicus, Gm., based on Latham's Tropic Crow, is not applicable to the present bird) (1858) ; 

 Gray, Cat. B. Trop. Isls. p. 24 (Hawaii) ; Dole, Proc. Boston Soc. N. H. xii. p. 300 (1869) (Kona, 6000 

 feet, Kealakeakua, Hawaii : " by no means abundant ") ; id. Hawaiian Almanac, p. 48 (1879) ; Scl. Ibis, 

 1871, pp. 359 & 360 ( 4< Whether this is the same as Gmelin's Corvus tropicus is very doubtful") ; id. Ibis, 

 1879, p. 92; Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 13 (footnote) (1877); Gray, Hand-1. ii. p. 14 (1870) (subgenus 

 Physocorax) . 



Peale, Cassin, Sclater, and others were fully justified in rejecting Gmelin's name C. tropicus 

 (Syst. Nat. i. p. 372), which was based on Latham's Tropic Crow (Gen. Syn. i. p. 384, 

 1781), being described from a specimen in Sir Joseph Banks's collection. The bill is 

 described as "pretty broad at base, tips of both mandibles notched." Plumage "glossy 

 black above, dull on the under parts." The wings are said to have " a gloss of green " 

 and the " vent and side-feathers tipped with dusky white; "length 12^ inches." Most 

 of these parts are quite different, the length nearly twice as large. The name of 

 C. tropicus is therefore inadmissible w ithout a query, as the description does not suit 

 the Hawaiian bird. Possibly Vieillot (Nouv. Diet. v. p. 356) was not quite wrong 

 in referring Gmelin's (or rather Latham's) bird to some kind of Cracticus; but such 

 a bird is not likely to occur on Hawaii, and therefore we must suppose that Latham 

 described some entirely different bird with a wrong locality attached to it. 



Adult mate. Plumage sooty black, the tail of a deeper black and slightly glossy. Wings 

 sooty brown, shafts of the quills black. Feathers of the throat stiff, with hair-like webs 

 and lighter greyish shafts. In the wing the fifth primary is longest, the first being only 

 as long as the secondaries. The tail is slightly graduated, the two central rectrices being 

 about an inch longer than the outer ones. Pill and feet black; soles greyish flesh-colour. 

 Iris dark brown. Palmer records a female sj^ecimen (no. 1463 of his collection) as 

 having the iris " dark blue." This is clearly exceptional. 



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