British Birds. 
nesting-habits or the colour of the eggs of much assistance. It may indeed be said 
that the classification of the Passeriformes has not yet been thoroughly mastered, 
and considerable modifications in our present systems may be expected. 
There appears to be a concensus of opinion in the present day 
THE CROW S. t j iat t h e Crows ought to form the leading Family of the Perching 
Family 
CORVIDM. 
Birds. As long ago as 1877 I commenced the ‘ Catalogue ’ of 
the Passeriformes in the British Museum with the Family Corvidce, 
nor have I seen any reason to deviate from this arrangement, while the high 
position of the Crows and their perfect structure had already been insisted upon 
by such masters in anatomy as Macgillivray and W. K. Parker. 
The Crows are more remarkable for strength than beauty, for the majority of 
them are black, relieved only by a purplish or green gloss on the plumage, and even 
this adornment is perceptible only at close quarters. Our Raven and Carrion- 
Crow are typical examples of this sombre family, but the Hooded Crow is a 
handsomer bird, with drab-coloured mantle and breast. The Magpies and Jays 
redeem the family Corvidce from the stigma of dingy colouring, and even some of 
the Ravens have their black dress relieved by a white collar, as is seen in the thick- 
billed Ravens ( Corvultnr ) of Africa. 
THE ROOK. 
( Trypanocorax 
frugilegus.) 
This is the most gregarious of all the Crows we have in Great 
Britain, and usually builds in colonies, known as ‘ Rookeries.’ The 
nest is substantially and even artistically built of twigs, with a large 
deep cup in the centre, lined with roots and moss. It is generally 
placed at a considerable height from the ground, and is a comfortable dwelling enough 
for the young. So firmly built is the nest that it withstands a great deal of rough 
weather, and is not often dislodged by a gale, although the young birds are sometimes 
blown out. When the latter are full grown, they differ from the parent birds in being 
more dingy, as they have not the beautiful gloss on the plumage which makes the 
old Rook quite a beautiful bird, when looked at closely. Young Rooks too have the 
base of the bill and the fore part of the cheeks feathered, so that they much resemble 
Carrion Crows, but may be distinguished from the latter by their longer and more 
slender bill, and by the bases of the body feathers being grey, not white. The eggs 
are like those of typical Crows, being from three to five in number, spotted and 
blotched with greenish brown on a bluish green ground. From the number of grubs 
and wire-worms which the Rooks consume, they must be considered as most useful 
birds to the farmer, though they are desperate hands at harrying a walnut tree in 
the autumn, and they likewise devour a considerable number of birds’ eggs in the 
spring, particularly those of the Sky-lark when it builds in exposed country. Even 
in the Zoological Gardens strict watch has to be kept on the nests of the birds in the 
open paddocks, as the Rooks soon find out the nests of Cranes, Bustards, Geese 
and Swans, and carry oft' the eggs. 
In an article recently published in the Contemporary Review, Mr. Phil. 
