236 
ORNITHOLOGY. 
Panjab birds. I have measured fully fifty specimens in the 
fleshy and none exceeded the dimensions above given. I 
am disposed to believe Corvus Laurencei a good species. 
Schlegel^ I observe, considers (Mus. P. B. 9 Liv. Coraces 
p. 12), both Corvus littoralis (Holboll) and Corvus tibetanus 
(Hodgson), as well as an host of other supposed species, in- 
separable from the European Raven. He was obviously 
not aware that the Panjab possesses a common permanently 
resident Raven, of which the bills are very much smaller 
than the European bird, even according to his measurements. 
He gives the bill at front of males killed in Central Europe, as 
2*95* to 3"13,t whereas, in the Panjab bird, these dimensions 
vary from 2*69 as a minimum to 2 82 as a maximum, of 
twelve fine specimens killed at difi'erent seasons in various 
localities. The wings of the same bird he gives as from 
15'o7 to 16-92, whereas in the Panjab bird these dimensions 
vary from 16*6 to 17-25. So that the Panjab Raven would 
appear to have a decidedly shorter bill and a somewhat 
longer wing. 
In the Tibet bird again, the bills vary from 3 05 to 3*18, 
while the wings vary from 17'25 to 17*65, so that this race 
appears to have a slightly larger bill and a very decidedly 
longer wing. Of the Greenland bird, he gives the greatest 
length of bill as 3*35, but in my specimen it is 3-4. 
In our Panjab bird again as compared with the Tibet 
Raven, one may say as Schlegel does of his Corvus japonensis, 
that it is "d^une taille beaucoup moins forte" and that "les 
plumes de la gorge, quoique lanceolees, sont petites et beau- 
coup moins effilees." As no fixed law can be laid down at 
present as to what should constitute a species, Schlegel may 
be perfectly correct in denying specific separation to 
C. tibetanus and C. littoralis, but if C, japonensis is to 
stand I do not think that C. Laurencei ought to be sup- 
pressed. [A. O. H.] 
* In this and all otherjcases in[ which I quote Schlegel's ^measurements, 
I have converted his French inches and lines into English inches and 
decimals. 
t Macgillivray gives the bills of two maleg as Scinches. 
