241 
C O R 
thirteen-inches long; plumage moftly black, breaft and 
wing coverts blue ; irides filvery ; tail white at the tip ; 
a fpot of blue under and over each eye ; bill and legs 
black. Native of Carthagena, in America. 
3S. Corvus dubius, the doubtful crow : general plum¬ 
age rufly brown ; crown of the head and tides black ; 
neck and belly yellowifii ; from the bate of the bill two 
white lines pafs through the orbits, and meet on the 
hind-head; bill and legs black. Found alfo in the 
country about Carthagena, with the preceding. 
39. Corvus fplendidus, the fplendid crow. This ele¬ 
gant fpecies is defcribed from an individual in the cabi¬ 
net of M. J. Temminck, of Amfterdam; and Vaillant 
is of opinion that it goes in flocks like the rook, and is 
an African bird. The epithet brilliant, or (hining, is 
common to many of the birds in hot countries; but to 
none is it given with more propriety than to the fubjedt 
before us. A fine green ftiaded with blue, and a purple 
enriched with gold, prevail in the plumage ; it appears 
as if the mod beautiful colours were ground and mixed 
together, that each might appear in a particular light, 
and vary its fhade from the different points ot view in 
which it is taken, and according as the light fliines mpre 
or let's on its different parts ; in the fun it is of a daz¬ 
zling brightnefs. When the light ftrikes diredtly upon 
it, the top of the head and back of the neck appears of 
a beautiful green, finning like an emerald ; the lower 
part of the neck, where this green terminates, has a pur¬ 
ple collar, fpangled with gold, fpreading fome way upon 
the fcapulars, which are of a yellowifh green, as are the 
throat, the front of the neck, and the breaft. The 
cheeks are purple mixed with violet; the.other part of 
the body then appears black, but in a 'different light is 
cupreous green. The final left wing-coverts, and thole 
neareft the pinion, are of a beautiful blue, like-polifhed 
fteel; fo are the upper tail-covcrts; the large wing-co¬ 
verts are copper-colour with golden dots’. The tail is 
very tapering, of a dark green, changing to purple and 
violet. Three of the'middle feathers of the wing being 
partly white, form a white bar along the wing; the reft 
of the feathers are a changeable green on their outer 
barbs, blackifh within and below, as well as underneath 
the tail. The bill and feet are black; the wings are 
very fcanty, reaching but little beyond the origin of the 
tail. Vaillant-caHs it I'eclatant. 
40. Corvus frugilegus, the rook. This well-known 
bird is about the fize of the carrion crow, and is very 
like it in external form and appearance. What diftin- 
guiflies it moft, is a naked white fkin, rather fcaly, that 
encircles the bafe of the bill, inftead of thofe black 
projecting briftles, which in the other fpecies of crows 
extend as far as the aperture of the noltrils. It feeds 
upon grain, roots, and worms; and, as in fearch of its 
proper fubliftence, it penetrates deep in the ground with 
its bill, which in time becomes rough, the briftles at the 
bafe are fuppofed to be worn off by the continual rub¬ 
bing. The appetite of the rook is confined to grain, 
worms, and infects; it never prowls after carrion, nor 
touches flefli : it has alfo the inufcular ventricle and the 
broad inteftines of the granivorous tribe. Thefe birds 
fly in numerous flocks, which are fometimes fo immenfe 
as to darken the air. We may readily conceive what 
havock fuch hordes will Commit on new-fown fields of 
corn, and on barley or oats when nearly ripe. Accord¬ 
ingly, in fome countries, the government has interfered. 
Mr. Pennant vindicates them from the afperfion, affert- 
ing that they do more good than harm, by deftroying 
the caterpillars and erucse of the dor-beetle or chaffer, 
which gnaw the roots of corn and turnips, and blaft the 
honeft labours of the hulbandman. Be this as it may, 
they are certainly very deftruftive to new fown wheat. 
They fearch out the lands where it is fown ; and, watch¬ 
ing them more carefully than the owners, perceive when 
the feed begins to ftioot; this is the time of their feeding 
on it; and in three or four days they will root up fuch 
Vol, V. No. 269. r 
V u s. 
vaft quantities, that a good crop has been often thus de- 
ftroyed in embryo. After a few days, the wheat continuing 
to grow 1 , its blades appear green above ground ; and then 
the time of danger from thefe birds is over ; for then 
the feeds are fo far robbed of their mealy fuftenance, 
that they are of no value to that bird, and it will no 
longer give itfelf the trouble to deftroy them. -Hence- 
the careful farmer is necefiitated to have them watched. 
Every time they fettle, the perfon employed fhould 
throw up a dead rook, and they will immediately defert 
the field. The reafon of their riling at the toiling up of 
their dead fellow-creature is, that they are,a bird ex¬ 
tremely appreheniive of danger, and they are always 
alarmed when one of their comradey rifes. They take 
this for the rifing of an out-bird, and all fly off at the 
fignal. Rooks are Very noify and clamorous, efpecially 
when they have young. Ten or twelve nefts are fome¬ 
times found on the lame tree, and s great number of 
trees thus furniflted form our rookeries. They feek not 
retirement and folitude, but prefer fettling near our 
dwellings. 
Rooks begin to build their neft in the month of March, 
at leaft in England ; and their fociety appears to be re¬ 
gulated by a complete fyftem of jurifprudence. They 
fieem to have fome idea of leparate property. No one is 
allowed-to carry off the materials, from another’s neft, 
and every crime againft the interefts of the community 
is punilhed with feverity. The delinquent is attacked 
by thofe who are inverted with authority; he is by them 
chaftifed according to the nature of his offence, and 
fometimes baniihed from the commonwealth. They lay 
four or five eggs, fmaller than thofe of the raven, but 
marked with broader fpots at the large end. The male 
and female fit by turns. When the young are able to 
eat, they difgorge their food, which they keep in referve 
in their craw, or rather in a fort of bag formed by the 
dilatation of the oefophagus. After their hatch is over, 
they leave the trees where they neftled ; and return not 
again till the month of Auguft, and begin to repair their 
nefts in October. Tt is faid that the herons fometimes . 
take advantage of their abfence, to lay and hatch in their 
nefts. They continue the whole year in England ; but 
in France, Silelia, and many other countries, they are 
undoubtedly birds of paffage, if we except a few ; the 
only difference is, that in France they announce the win¬ 
ter, while in Silefia they are the forerunners of the fum- 
mer. The rook is an inhabitant of all Europe, accord¬ 
ing to Linnaeus; but it would appear that there are 
fome exceptions, fince Aldrovandus afferts that there are 
none in Italy. It is faid that the young ones are good 
eating, and little inferior to the pigeon. Country peo¬ 
ple have lefs averfion to their flelh, knowing that they 
fubfift not on carcafes, like the raven and the carrion 
crow. The rooks are remarked to fly chiefly in the 
morning and the evening. The erucae of the dor-beetle 
(fcarabtzus mclolanthaJ, are certainly what they fearch for 
in the ground, and for thefe they feduloufly watch and 
follow the ploughman. Their name in Greek is 
airi^o^oyoq, or feed-gatherer ; which is alfo the meaning 
of their Latin name, frugilega■ in German, roeck ; 
whence the Englifh name rook, and the Swedifh roka ; 
in Dutch, koore-hraey ; in Polifh, gazoron. 
41. Corvus Afer, the African rook. Vaillant found 
this fpecies very common at the Capse, where it is called 
kcorenland-kraai, the crow of ploughed lands. It is fi- 
milar to the corvus frugilegus, or rook of Europe, except 
that the bafe of the bill is not devoid of feathers. If 
it it be true that the baldnefs of the rook arifes from its 
continually thrufting the beak under ground in fearch of 
fubfiftence, the different appearance of this, found at the 
Cape, may be accounted for from its finding a more abun¬ 
dant provifion above the ground. The African rook is 
more plentiful in the colony near the Cape, than in the 
deferts. They approach inhabited places, where they 
find abundant provifion in the cultivated lands; and 
3 they 
