344 
Passeres.- 
-BIRDS.- 
-CoRVIDiE. 
some appear to devour almost anything that comes in 
tlieir way, and is fitted to afford them nourishment. 
Family I.— CORVIDJi:. 
This family includes the numerous species of crows 
and other allied forms, many of which are amongst the 
most omnivorous of birds ; in fact, the Corvidae con- 
stitute the principal portion of the order which M. 
Temminck proposed to establish under the name of 
Omnivores. They have a more or less elongated, 
strong, and compressed conical bill, in which the ridge 
of the upper mandible is curved, and its tip slightly 
notched on each side. The nostrils are placed at the 
base of the upper mandible, and concealed beneath a 
group of small feathers which grow there. The wings 
are generally long and powerful, and the feet of moder- 
ate length, and strong. 
These birds seem to be almost equally adapted for 
a terrestrial and an aerial existence ; they walk and run 
upon the ground with great facility, rise easiljf from the 
ground, fly well, and display considerable activity 
amongst the branches of trees. They are very generally 
distributed over the face of the globe, and everywhere 
readily find the means of living; for most of them are 
by no means particular about their diet, feeding indif- 
ferentlj' upon grain, fruit, insects, and carrion, or even 
attacking and devouring small birds, and such weakly 
animals as they can easily overcome. They are for 
the most part noisy birds, with much slyness and 
drollery in their disposition, and many of them, espe- 
cially when tamed, exhibit a strong inclination for 
thievery and mischief. 
THE PIPING CROW (Gyrnnorhina tibicen). ■ We 
commence this family with the Piping Crow of Aus- 
tralia, because this bird, with its immediate allies, is 
evidently nearly related to the crow shrikes, with which 
we concluded the preceding section ; in fact, by many 
authors these birds have been pilaced together in a 
single group, sometimes on one side, sometimes on the 
other of the line of demarcation between the crows and 
the shrikes. 
The Piping Crow is a large species, measuring about 
sixteen inches in length. The greater part of the 
plumage is deep black, but the nape of the neck, the 
wing-coverts, the rump, vent, and upper and lower 
tail-coverts are white ; the tail feathers are also white, 
largely tipped with black. The bill is bluish-ash colour 
at the base, and black at the tip, and the feet are black. 
The nostrils in this and the allied species are not con- 
cealed as in the ordinary crows, but form elongated 
slits in the sides of the upper mandible. 
This handsome bird is an inhabitant of New South 
Wales, over which it is very generally diffused, haunt- 
ing the trees in the vicinity of cleared lands and plains, 
and, when not disturbed in any way, approaching the 
habitations of the settlers with the greatest boldness 
and familiarity. It lives almost entirely upon insects, 
which it generally' captures on the ground; and Mr. 
Gould states that it devours immense numbers of 
locusts and grasshoppers. In captivity it feeds upon 
animal food of almost any kind, and displays many of 
the amusing qualities of the ordinary crows ; but it has 
one advantage over the latter in the beauty of its 
note, which is a rich and mellow pipe, capable of con- 
siderable modulation. In fact, this bird will learn to 
whistle tunes with great accuracy. The Piping Crow 
builds a large, round, cup-shaped nest among the 
branches of a tree, constructing it of sticks, leaves, and 
wool, and lining it with finer materials. It begins to 
breed in August, and rears two broods in the season, 
which lasts till January. 
THE WHITE-BACKED PIPING CROW {Gyrnnorhina 
leuconota) is about the same size as the preceding 
species, which it closely resembles in its appearance, 
but may be at once distinguished by its pure white 
back. It is an inhabitant of South Australia, where 
it exactl}'- represents the Piping Crow of New South 
Wales, but is a shy and wary, instead of a hold and 
familiar bird. 
THE TASMANIAN PIPING CROW {Gyrnnorhina or- 
ganica), a smaller species than either of the preceding, 
measuring only thirteen inches in length, resembles the 
White-backed Crow in its white back, but has the 
whole lower surface black. It is found only in Van 
Diemen’s Land, where it resides amongst the trees in 
the open parts of the country. In its habits it resem- 
bles the New South Wales species, feeding upon insects, 
which it procures on the ground. In the early morning 
this bird perches upon the dead branch of a gum-tree, 
and “pours forth a succession of notes of the strangest 
description that can be imagined, much resembling,” 
saj's Mr. Gould, “the sounds of a hand-organ out of 
tune, which has obtained for it the colonial name of 
the Organ-bird." In captivity it readily learns to 
whistle tunes or to articulate words, so that it becomes 
a most amusing pet. 
THE PIED FRUIT CROW {Slrepera graeulina) is an 
abundant and generally distributed bird in the colony 
of New South Wales, inhabiting alike the brushes of the 
coast, the sides of the mountains, and the forests of 
Eucalypti of the intermediate plains. It is a large and 
handsome bird, measuring nearly eighteen inches in 
length ; the whole of the plumage is jetty black, with 
the exception of a large patch on each wing, the under 
tail-coverts, and the bases and tips of the tail feathers, 
which are pure white. The food of this bird consists 
principally of fruits, berries, and seeds, of which it finds 
an abundance among the branches of the trees, so that 
it descends less frequently to the ground than the pre- 
ceding species, to which, in other respects, it is nearly 
allied. Its flesh is frequently eaten, and by some people 
regarded as a delicacy. 
THE HILL FRUIT CROW {Strepera arguta), an 
abundant species in Van Diemen’s Land, and also met 
with, hut rarely, in Southern Australia, is larger than 
any of the preceding, measuring about two feet in 
length. It is of a sooty-brown colour, with a patch on 
the wing the under tail-coverts and the tips of the 
inner webs of the tail feathers white. According to 
Mr. Gould, the food of this bird consists principally of 
insects, and its note is loud and ringing, resembling the 
distant sound of the strokes on a blacksmith’s anvil. 
THE SOOTY FRUIT CROW (5. a smaller 
species, wdiichis also common in Van Diemen’s land, 
is known to the colonists as the Black Magpie. 
