56 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
17. Little Crow Corvus bennetti North 
bennetti — Kenric H. Bennett, ornithologist and collector, Riverina, New 
South Wales. 
Distribution . — Northern and central Australia and the interior gener- 
ally. 
Notes . — Also called Small-billed Crow. Usually in pairs or small 
parties ; it is not destructive, feeding chiefly on insects and small reptiles, 
to which are added seeds and berries. The call-note is “Car,” repeated 
six or eight times. 
Nest . — Similar to that of the Raven, but usually placed in a scrub 
tree away from the creek timber. 
Eggs . — Four or five to six or seven, pale greenish-grey, speckled and 
uniformly spotted all over with blackish-brown and olive-brown markings. 
Breeding-season: August to November. 
18. Crow Corvus cecilce Mathews 
ceciloe — from the name of a relative of Gregory M. Mathews. 
Distribution . — Tropical northern Australia, Dirk Hartog Island, cen- 
tral Australia, South Australia, Queensland, and north-eastern New South 
Wales. 
Notes . — Also called Hazel-eyed Crow. In the breeding-season it is 
met with in isolated pairs, but congregates in flocks during autumn and 
winter. Frequents alike mountain ranges and belts of timber bordering 
inland rivers and creeks. Food: carrion, insects, young birds, and eggs; 
also cultivated fruits of all kinds. Useful in keeping down the blow-fly 
pest. It is often mistaken for the Raven and blamed for killing lambs. 
Crows are distinguished from the Raven in having the bases of the feathers 
on the upper-parts white and dusky-grey, those of the Raven being black. 
Nest . — Similar in construction and situation to that of the Raven. 
Eggs . — Four to five, sometimes six; a typical clutch is pale greenish- 
grey, speckled, spotted, and blotched with blackish-brown and olive-brown 
markings. Breeding-season: August to January. 
