334 



THE WHITE-NECKED RAVEN. 



of its wings and the wedge-like shape of its tail. This bird appears to 

 me to occupy a part of the interval which exists between the ravens 

 and the vultures. 



The white-necked raven, however, is altogether more similar to the 

 first. It only resembles the vultures of Africa, which I have described, 

 in the dimension of its wings, which, when folded, are longer than the 

 tail by three inches, in the tapering shape of its tail, and in the form 

 of its bill, which is compressed on the sides, convex on the top, very 

 much bent and rounded, that is to say, rising like that of the CafFre and 

 Oricou as it lengthens, at the same time bending progressively : these 

 characters distinguish the white-necked raven from all hitherto des- 

 cribed ravens. If some travellers should at any future time happen to 

 bring several species similar to the white-necked raven, the specific 

 name will be drawn from the white spot which is on the nape of the 

 neck, which is strongly contrasted by the glossy black, which is the 

 only colour of the rest of its plumage, if a long streak of white, which 

 emanates from the larger white spot at the back of the neck and which 

 girts the chest, be excepted. This streak, which is very little seen, is 

 formed by a single row of feathers, the half part of them white, of 

 which the exterior edges only are seen. The throat is of a black, 

 less deep than the rest of its body, and all the feathers which cover it 

 are forked, and the plumelets spreading beyond the stem as if the 

 end had been cut off, a remarkable characteristic which I have only 

 found in very few birds. The tail of the white-necked raven, as I have 

 already said, is wedge-shaped, the feathers at the sides being shorter 

 than the others. The feet are black, as well as the bill, which is 

 entirely so, with the exception of the end, which is white. The iris is 

 hazelbrown. The size of the white-necked raven is less than that 

 of our large raven, and holds a middle space between this species and 

 the hooded crow. I shall also observe that the claws of the white- 

 necked raven are stronger and more bent than those of the ravens 

 generally. 



The description which I have just given of the white-necked raven 

 shows that this genus of ravens, if I may thus express myself, possesses 

 some similarity of shape with birds of prey. The observations which I 

 have made respecting its habits and its manners of living will present 

 the same analogous features. 



Voracious, clamorous, bold, sociable, and dirty, he imitates the raven 

 in his taste for carrion, which is the principal part of his food, and 

 sometimes assembles in very numerous and noisy flocks. This bird 



