Io8 TRANSACTIONS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
by twos and threes, to their night’s quarters in the ivy. There is 
a good deal of squabbling and chattering at first, but they soon settle 
down. I am sure there are hundreds, and how they all manage to 
find accommodation is a mystery. 
The Rose-coloured Starling {Pastor roseus') is, I am sure, only 
a very occasional visitor to Perthshire, but to illustrate its extensive 
geographical distribution, I may mention that I have constantly seen 
it in India, in the month of April, previous to its northern migration, 
and also in the month of July, on its way to the south. 
Corvids. —That handsome bird, the Jay {Garrulus gla 7 idarius), 
is still comparatively common in the large pine woods of Perthshire, 
but the Magpie {Pica rustica)^ is almost extinct, though I have met 
with it once or twice. Both are common throughout Europe. 
The two allied species, the Carrion Crow {Corvus corone) and’the 
Hooded Crow {Corvus cornix), which are now known to interbreed, 
extend throughout the whole of Europe and Asia, and I have met with 
them in India during the cold weather. There are far too many of 
them in Perthshire, in spite of the persecution they undergo, and they 
are well known as arrant poachers of any and every kind of egg 
which their sharp eyes may light upon. 
I have the following Indian note regarding our Common Rook 
{Corvus frugilegus) :—“Very common at Peshawur in the cold weather. 
It leaves about 20th April. I saw young Rooks which could scarcely 
fly, near Iskardo, in Balthistan, in July; they did not appear to be 
breeding in rookeries as they do at home.” 
The Raven {Corvus corax) is, I believe, found over all, or nearly 
all, the known world, both old and new, consequently I need hardly 
say it is included in the fauna of Perthshire. Col. Duthie gave us 
an interesting account of a breeding place in the southern part of the 
county, and I know of several in the mountainous district of Glen 
Lyon, as well as in Glen Etive and Glencoe. It is common in 
North India, Cashmere, Ladakh, and Thibet, and I have the 
following note regarding it:—“ One of the few birds I saw on the 
Chang Chenmoo Pass, June, 1865.” This pass is 18,000 feet 
above sea level. These birds were quite at home, and did not seem 
to feel the rarified air which inconveniently affected some of my men. 
The Jackdaw {Corvus uionedula), which every spring causes me 
so much trouble by wrenching the wire-nettings off the openings of 
the cell ventilators in the Prison, and blocking them up with his 
unwieldy nest, is the same pert little gentleman whose appearance 
I used to hail with pleasure in the Peshawur Valley (North-West 
India) thirty years ago. They are very common about the Prison, 
and fight with the Sparrows and Starlings for possession of the nooks 
and crannies of the water tower. 
