THE BIRDS OF LIBERIA 747 
largely absent from the forested portions of central and southern Liberia nor 
did we meet with it in the more open country in eastern Liberia. Possibly too, 
the season of the year may in part determine its presence, for the family groups 
wander somewhat in the non-breeding time. Thus Lowe reports it ‘‘very com- 
mon”’ in January on the southern coast at Settra Kru and Nana Kru, while 
in Sierra Leone, Thompson (1925) found it commonly in the dry season about 
Freetown. Although Oberholser notes an immature male from Mount Coffee 
sent by Currie, the general distribution of the species seems to be the open coastal 
country, especially of the northern part of Liberia bordering the unforested areas 
of Sierra Leone. 
CORVIDAE Crows and Jays 
Corvus albus P. L. 8. Miller. White-necked Crow 
Corvus albus P. L. 8S. Miiller, Linn. Natursys., Suppl. u. Register-Band, vol. 1, p. 85, 1776: Senegal. 
Length 19 inches; plumage shining black except for the white neck and breast. 
It is unfortunate that the older name albus must replace the well-known name 
scapulatus for this crow. It is a bird widely distributed in Africa, but in Liberia 
avoids the forest altogether and is very distinctly a hanger-on of man, frequent- 
ing the neighborhood of the native villages, the clearings and cultivated fields, 
or the oil-palm groves that are more or less under human supervision. Indeed, 
it was noticeable in our journey across the country, that one might walk for 
hours along the forest trails and presently hearing the calls of these birds, receive 
the first intimation that a native village with its clearings and rice-fields was at 
hand. They often come about the thatched huts, alighting on the roofs to hunt 
for the eggs or young of the little Hooded Waxbills. Bittikofer found them 
common along the coastal towns, in estuaries of rivers and on seashores, living 
on the fish, crayfish, and mollusks left by the tide. He adds that in the oil-palm 
season, from February to May, they feed largely on these nuts and their flesh 
is then much in demand among the natives. During the season of our visit, 
July to November, we saw no sign of breeding, but the birds were nearly always 
in small companies up to half a dozen. At Kaka Town, on August 23, we saw a 
large flock of between thirty and forty birds. In the southern part of the coast 
it is less common, though Bittikofer says it was found by him along the lower 
parts of the Junk, St. John’s, Cestos, and Sino rivers. Curiously, it did not 
seem to be present in the immediate vicinity of Monrovia, though doubtless to 
be found among the outlying villages. 
REFERENCES 
Allen, G. M. 
1927. Birds of an ocean voyage. Bull. Essex Co. (Mass.) Orn. Club, for 1926, p. 5-12. 
Bannerman, D. A. 
1911. (Sylviella hardyi, n. sp., and Cinnyris kruensis, n. sp.). Bull. British Orn. Club, vol. 29, 
p. 23-24. 
1912. On a collection of birds made by Mr. Willoughby P. Lowe on the west coast of Africa 
and outlying islands; with field-notes by the collector. Ibis, ser. 9, vol. 6, p. 219-268, 
pl. 4 (map), figs. 2, 3. 
