CROW TRIBE. 
3°9 
crows are only found in Australia; while magpies, nutcrackers, and choughs, are 
characteristic of the northern and central parts of the Old World. South America 
possesses some jays of brilliant plumage; those of the genus Xanthura having 
beautiful blue feathers, associated with black or deeper blue markings. 
THICK-BILLED RAVEN. 
Havens and The genus Gorvus includes all the true ravens and crows, 
Crows. distinguished by a stout compressed bill, straight at the base, arched 
towards the point, and sharp at the edges. The wings are long and graduated, 
and the tail is more or less graduated. The feet are powerful, the metatarsus ex¬ 
ceeding in length the middle toe. The plumage is identical in both sexes; and 
black, more or less glossed with green or purple, decidedly predominates. Birds 
of this genus are found throughout the whole of Europe and Asia north of the 
line of the Himalaya, ranging into North-Western India, Australia, North America, 
and Mexico. 
r The type of this well-known genus is the large raven {Gorvus 
corax), familiar to the natives of the northern parts of both 
hemispheres. In Japan its place is occupied by the Oriental raven, which is also 
found in India, Ceylon, South China, and the islands of the Malay Archipelago. 
The common raven of temperate Europe may be regarded as the parent form, and 
thrives in a wide diversity of regions, ranging from Greenland to Spain and from 
Portugal to Palestine, contriving constantly to adapt its habits to its immediate 
