THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
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17. Little Crow Corvus bennetti North 
bennetti —Kenric H. Bennett, ornithologist and collector, Riverina, New 
South Wales. 
Distribution .—Northern and central Australia and the interior gener¬ 
ally. 
Notes. —Also called Small-billed Crow. Usually in pairs or small 
parties; it is not destructive, feeding chiefly on insects and small reptiles, 
to which are added seeds and berries. The call-note is “Car,” repeated 
six or eight times. 
Nest. —Similar to that of the Raven, but usually placed in a scrub 
tree away from the creek timber. 
Eggs. —Four or five to six or seven, pale greenish-grey, speckled and 
uniformly spotted all over with blackish-brown and olive-brown markings 
Breeding-season: August to November. 
18. Crow Corvus cecilcz Mathews 
cecilos — from the name of a relative of Gregory M. Mathews. 
Distribution .—Tropical northern Australia, Dirk Hartog Island, cen¬ 
tral Australia, South Australia, Queensland, and north-eastern New South 
Wales. 
Notes. — Also called Hazel-eved Crow. In the breeding-season it is 
met with in isolated pairs, but congregates in flocks during autumn and 
winter. Frequents alike mountain ranges and belts of timber bordering 
inland rivers and creeks. Food: carrion, insects, young birds, and eggs; 
also cultivated fruits of all kinds. Useful in keeping down the blow-flv 
pest. It is often mistaken for the Raven and blamed for killing lambs. 
Crows are distinguished from the Raven in having the bases of the feathers 
on the upper-parts white and dusky-grey, those of the Raven being black. 
Nest . — Similar in construction and situation to that of the Raven. 
Eggs. — Four to five, sometimes six; a typical clutch is pale greenish- 
grey, speckled, spotted, and blotched with blackish-brown and olive-brown 
markings. Breeding-season: August to January. 
