The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma/Birds/Order Passeres/Family Corvidæ/Genus Corvus

by Edward Charles Stuart Baker

Genus CORVUS Linn., 1766.

The genus Corvus contains the Ravens, Crows, Rooks and Jackdaws. Seven species are found in India, several of which are divisible into well-marked geographical races, some of which were ranked by Gates as species whilst others equally easily differentiated were altogether ignored. Of the seven species some are widely distributed and well known to all, and others are confined to the Himalayas and the north-west portion of the Empire.

Corvus has the plumage black throughout or nearly throughout, and may be recognized by the position of the nostrils, which are placed far forward, about one-third the length of the bill from the forehead, and are entirely concealed from view by a multitude of very stiff, straight bristles that reach the middle of the bill. In these characters this genus agrees with the Magpies; but the latter may be separated by the length of the tail, which is very much longer than the wing, and the shape of the first primary, which is figured on p. 37.

The Crows are with two exceptions resident, the other two being only winter visitors.

The Rook forms a partial exception to the general characters given above for determining Corvus. Up to nine months of age it has the ordinary stiff bristles over the nostrils, but at that age it casts them all off, as well as the feathers on the front part of the head. Its appearance in this state is well depicted in the figure of the head given on p. 31.

Key to Species.

A.

Size large, wing always over 380 mm. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. corax, p. 21.

B.

Size smaller, wing always under 380 mm.

a.

Crown and neck concolorous or nearly so.

a’.

Lower plumage with little gloss, and this blue or green; bill stout, face feathered in adults.

a’’.

Plumage intensely black, feathers of hind neck firm and glossy with glistening shafts ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. corone, p. 24.

b’’.

Plumage not so black, feathers of hind neck soft and decomposed with inconspicuous shafts ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. coronoides, p. 25.

b’.

Lower plumage intensely glossed with blue and purple, bill slender, face of adults bare ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. frugilegus, p. 30.

b.

Hind neck grey or ashy, contrasting with black crown.

c’.

Wing exceeding 300 mm. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. cornix, p. 32.

d’.

Wing never as much as 300 mm.

c’’.

Chin and throat deep black contrasting with breast ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. splendens, p. 32.

d’’.

Chin and throat grey like breast ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. monedula, p. 36.

Corvus corax.

Key to Subspecies.

A.

Plumage glossy black, the brown tint if present almost imperceptible.

a.

Wing averaging about 420 mm. Bill about 71 mm. Throat-hackles short ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. laurencei, p. 21.

b.

Wing averaging about 500 mm. Bill about 81 mm. Throat-hackles long ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. tibetanus, p. 23.

B.

Plumage very brown on neck, upper back and scapulars ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. ruficollis, p. 23.

(1) Corvus corax laurencei.

The Punjab Raven.

Corvus laurencei Hume, Lah. to Yark., p. 235 (1873) (Punjab).

Corvus corax. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 14 (1889).

Vernacular names. The European Raven; Domkak, Doda (Hind. in the N.W.); Kargh (Candahar).

Description. Entirely black, glossed with steel-blue, purple and lilac; the throat-hackles short and not very conspicuous.

Colours of soft parts. Iris brown; bill and legs shining black.

Measurements. Length from about 600 to 620 mm.; wing from 400 to 440 mm.; tail about 240 mm.; tarsus about 60 mm.; culmen about 64 mm. to 75 mm.

Distribution. Punjab, Bombay, United Provinces and N.W. Provinces, and a rare straggler into Kashmir and Central India. It occurs also in Sind, but in the N.E. of that province the Brown-necked Raven takes its place.

Outside of India the Punjab Raven is found through Baluchistan, S. Persia, Mesopotamia, Southern Asia Minor and Northern Palestine. It is not easy to separate the breeding ranges of ruficollis and laurencei, but the former appears to be essentially a bird of deserts and bare hills whilst the Punjab Raven is more a bird of wooded country, though both are great wanderers and overlap one another constantly in their non-breeding haunts.

Nidification. This Raven makes a large nest of sticks, sometimes lined with a little wool, leaves or smaller, softer twigs and places it near the top of a tree either in the open or in thin forest. The eggs number from four to six, generally four or five and are a pale blue-green marked with deep brown and with underlying marks of pale grey and neutral tint. The markings are usually thickly distributed over the whole surface but are sometimes bolder and blacker and more sparse, making the eggs very handsome in appearance. They are typically rather long ovals. They average about 50.7 × 33.6 mm. The breeding season is from the end of December to early March.

a

b
Fig. 2.—A throat-hackle of the Raven of Sikkim (a) and of the Raven of the Punjab (b).

Habits. The Punjab Raven is a very bold, confiding bird and has all the habits of the Common Crow, attending camps and villages and going about without fear but with the wariness of his tribe. Hume has noticed how a large number of Ravens die annually in the autumn on their first arrival in Sind from no apparent cause. This form of Raven will not be found far from trees in the breeding season, nor does it haunt hills and mountains of any great elevation, though it has been found at about 6,000 feet in the Simla Hills by Mr. P. Dodsworth.

(2) Corvus corax tibetanus.

The Tibet Raven.

Corvus tibetanus Hodgs., Ann. Mag. N. H., (2) iii, p. 203 (1849) (Tibet).

Corvus corax. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 14.

Vernacular names. The Tibet Raven, Jerd.; Neka-wak (Tibetan).

Description. A much bigger, more powerful bird than the Punjab Raven, with a bigger bill and the lanceolate hackles of the throat much longer and more pointed than in that bird.

Measurements. Wing from about 480 to 530 mm., nearly always between 490 and 510 mm. Culmen about 80 mm. and running up to 85 mm.

Distribution. The Himalayas from Kashmir to Eastern Tibet, including Sikkim, Bhutan and the hills north of the Brahmaputra in Assam.

Nidification. The breeding season of this fine Raven appears to be from early March to the middle of April and the eggs are generally laid whilst the whole country is still under snow. It appears to nest both in cliffs and in stunted trees and is not uncommon on the great Gyantse Plateau at 12,000 to 14,000 feet, nesting on the willows and thorn-trees. Mandelli also took its nest in Sikkim. The eggs number three to five in a clutch and taken as a series are very different from those of either laurencei or ruficollis. In general colour they are very dull, brown eggs; the ground-colour is much less blue or green-blue and the markings are more numerous, yet smaller and less bold in character.

Twenty eggs average 49⋅0 × 35⋅6 mm. A broader, bigger egg than that laid by either of our other Indian Ravens, though we have but few to judge from.

Habits. The Tibet Raven is a bird of lofty regions, being met with up to 18,000 feet in the summer and seldom below 9,000 feet even in mid-winter. Its note is said to be a harsher, deeper croak than that of the Punjab Raven, and over most of its range it is a much shyer, wilder bird, though it is said to haunt the vicinity of villages in Tibet. It was also reported as common all along the route taken by the Military Expedition to Lhassa, frequenting the camps, feeding on the animals that died on the march and acting as regular scavengers.

(3) Corvus corax ruficollis.

The Brown-necked Raven.

Corvus ruficollis Lesson, Traité d'Orn., p. 329 (1831) (Africa).

Corvus umbrinus. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 15.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. Differs from other Indian forms of Raven in being a much browner bird in general coloration, more especially so on the neck and shoulders. The neck-hackles are even shorter than in laurencei and it is rather smaller also than either of the previous forms.

Measurements. Wing about 400 mm. and ranging between 380 and 420 mm. The bill in the Indian form is also more slender than it is in either the Tibet or Punjab Raven.

Distribution. Sind, Baluchistan, S. Persia, Palestine and N. Africa to Abyssinia.

Fig. 3.—A throat-hackle of C. c. ruficollis.

Nidification. The Brown-necked Raven builds in cliffs or river banks throughout its whole area. In Baluchistan it apparently occasionally breeds in the rocky sides of the steeper and more broken gorges and cliffs. In South Palestine it breeds in great numbers in the river banks or in the many precipitous ravines in that country and the little that is on record concerning its breeding elsewhere agrees with this. It usually lays four eggs, often three only and sometimes five. Col. R. Meinertzhagen took a fine series of the eggs near Jerusalem. They are very small and can hardly be distinguished from those of a Carrion-Crow but they are rather poorly marked on the whole, less brown than those of the Tibet Raven but much less richly coloured than those of the Punjab Raven. They measure about 45.0 × 31.5 mm. The breeding season in Palestine seems to commence in early March, but in Baluchistan they lay in December and January.

Habits. This is essentially a bird of the desert or of rocky barren coasts and hills and wherever such are intersected by cultivated or better forested areas the Punjab Raven or some other form takes its place. It is a more companionable bird than either of its Indian relations and where it is most numerous several pairs may be seen consorting together.

Meinertzhagen, who has recently examined a mass of material, is unable to detect any characters by which umbrinus of India to Palestine can be separated from ruficollis of Africa.

(4) Corvus corone orientalis.

The Eastern Carrion-Crow.

Corvus orientalis Eversm., Add. Pall. Zoogr., ii, p. 7 (1841) (Buchtarma).

Corvus corone. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 16.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. The whole plumage very glossy black, the feathers of the hind neck firm and with glistening shafts.

Colours of soft parts. Iris brown; legs and bill shining black.

Measurements. Length about 500 mm.; wing about 330 to 350 mm.; tail about 190 mm.; culmen about 58 to 60 mm.; tarsus about the same.

The Eastern Carrion-Crow differs from the Common Carrion-Crow in being decidedly bigger, a more glossy blue-black in colour and in having the outer tail-feathers more graduated.

Distribution. Siberia from the Yenesei to Japan, south to Central Asia, Afghanistan, Eastern Persia, Kashmir, Tibet and N. China. Whitehead found it common in the Upper Kurram Valley.

Nidification. The Eastern Carrion-Crow is resident where found, but within Indian limits very little has been recorded about its history. It nests in the Kurram Valley, whence Whitehead sent me eggs, and also in Kashmir, from which State I have received others. It builds in trees and very often near villages or buildings, laying three to five eggs, which cannot be distinguished from those of the Common Carrion-Crow.

Habits. The Carrion-Crow is found up to 1,400 feet and higher during the hot weather but certainly breeds as low as 5,000 feet. In the winter it descends much lower and it was obtained by Magrath at Bannu. From its superficial resemblance to the Common Jungle-Crow it is possibly often overlooked and it may prove to be not uncommon in the plains in the extreme north-west of India. In Kashmir it is not rare but haunts the wilder parts of the country, though on the Afghanistan and Baluchistan frontier it is, according to Whitehead, generally found in the neighbourhood of villages and mankind.

Its voice is the usual croak of its tribe and its food is as omnivorous as that of the western bird.

Corvus coronoides.

The Jungle-Crow.

Our Indian Jungle-Crows have hitherto been known by the name of macrorhynchus, a name which really applies to their Javan cousin, but they are merely races of the Australian Jungle-Crow, and must therefore be known specifically by the name coronoides, though they form several well-defined subspecies.

Key to Subspecies.

A.

Wing about 305 mm., bill about 60 mm. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. levaillanti, p. 27.

B.

Wing about 290 mm., bill about 56 mm. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. culminatus, p. 28.

C.

Wing about 330 mm.

a.

Bill about 60 mm., more slender ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. intermedius, p. 28.

b.

Bill about 65 mm., more slender ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. c. andamanensis, p. 29.

A feature which is also of some use in distinguishing geographical races is the colour of the bases of the feathers. In southern birds these are nearly always very dark, in Central Indian birds they vary a great deal from pale dirty white to dark, whilst in the northern mountain birds when fully adult they are generally pale and often pure white. Andaman birds seem invariably to have the bases to their feathers a very pure white, and differ in this respect from, their nearest allies in Assam and

Fig. 4. — Head of C. coronoides.

Fig. 5. — Foot of C. coronoides.

Burma, from which it may be found necessary to separate them; they agree with these, however, in their very heavy bills.

As so much of the material for examination in museums is unsexed, it has been very difficult to draw conclusions from measurements. It must be remembered, however, that females on the whole run smaller than males and certainly have smaller, slighter bills. Although non-migratory birds and in their wilder haunts keeping to very restricted areas, the races which have taken to scavenging cities and villages for food probably travel over very wide areas in the non-breeding season and the result of this habit is that we are often faced with conflicting measurements from the same locality.

It is most noticeable in the geographical races of this Crow that the eggs are more easily differentiated than the birds themselves.

(5) Corvus coronoides levaillanti.

The Indian Jungle-Crow.

Corvus levaillanti Less., Traité d'Orn., p. 328 (1831) (Bengal).

Corvus macrorhynchus. Blanf. & Oates, i, p, 17.

Vernacular names. The Indian Corby, the Slender-billed Crow, Jerdon; Dhar or Dhal-Kawa (Hindi in the North); Karrial (Hindi); Dad-Kawa, Jungli-Kawa (Bengali).

Description. Upper plumage glossy black, except the hind neck and sides of neck, which are almost glossless, and of which the feathers are disintegrated and silky, not of the intense black of the other parts, and with the shafts not conspicuously different from the webs.

Colours of soft parts. Iris brown, or very dark almost black-brown; legs, feet and bill black.

Measurements. Length from about 430 to 510 mm. (about 17 to 20 inches); tail about 170 to 200 mm.; wing about 304 mm., but varying from about 290 to 330 mm.; culmen about 60 mm.

Distribution. The Common Indian Jungle-Crow extends over the whole of India south of the Himalayas, as far South as the Deccan and on the East to about the latitude of the Madras Presidency. To the North-east it is found up to the Bay of Bengal, but east of the Brahmaputra its place is taken by the Burmese form.

Nidification. The breeding season of this race of Jungle-Crow over the greater portion of its habitat is from the middle of December to the middle of January but in the north-eastern portion of its range, such as Behar, Oudh, etc., it appears to lay in March and April, The nest is a very well-made neat cup of small and pliant twigs, much and compactly intermixed with leaves, moss, etc., and well lined with hair, grass or wool. It is generally placed high up in some tree away from villages and towns but may occasionally also be found building right inside the streets of big cities.

The eggs number four or five, rarely six, and are quite typical Crows' eggs, but, compared with those of the hill races, are much smaller and much paler in general tint. In shape also they average longer in proportion. One hundred eggs average 39⋅6 × 28⋅9 mm.

Habits. Normally the Jungle-Crow is, as its name implies, a bird of the forests and jungles rather than of cities and civilization: at the same time this particular race has taken to emulating the Indian House-Crow in haunting the abodes of men and, even where it still keeps to the jungles, generally selects places within easy distance of some village, possibly for the sake of the food it is able to scavenge from it. It is not nearly so gregarious as the House-Crow, and, except in the towns, each pair has its own special territory, from which it excludes all others of its own kind.

(6) Corvus coronoides culminatus.

The Southern Jungle-Crow.

Corvus culminatus Sykes, P. Z. S., 1832, p. 96 (Deccan).

Corvus macrorhynchus. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 17.

Vernacular names. Dheri-kawa (Hind. South); Kaki (Telegu); Kadu-Kaka (Tel. Travancore); Kaka (Tamil); Goyegamma Kaka (Ceylon).

Description. Only differs from the previous bird in being smaller, with generally a smaller, more slender bill and in having the bases to the feathers nearly always dark in the adult as in the young.

Colours of soft parts as in levaillanti.

Measurements. Wing from 272 to 305 mm., in one case only 319 (possibly a wanderer), and averaging about 291 mm. Culmen about 55 to 56 mm.

Distribution. India in the Madras Presidency southwards, the Deccan and south through Malabar and Travancore to the south of Ceylon.

Nidification. In the northern portion of its habitat this Crow breeds in December to February, but in Ceylon it breeds in June and July, though possibly in other months also. The nest is similar to that of the Common Indian Jungle-Crow, but the 60 eggs available for measurement average only 38.0 × 28.1 mm. In colour they seem to be richer and darker than those of the northern bird and to be of a stouter, shorter oval.

Habits. Similar to those of the other races, but it is perhaps more really a jungle bird than is levaillanti. In Ceylon it is said (Wait) to keep much to the coastal areas, which are well forested.

(7) Corvus coronoides intermedius.

The Himalayan Jungle-Crow.

Corvus intermedius Adams, P. Z. S., 1859, p. 171 (Kashmir).

Corvus macrorhynchus Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 17.

Vernacular names. Ulakpho (Lepcha); Ulak (Bhutea).

Description. A very large bird with a bill little if anything larger than that of the Northern Indian race. In adults the bases of the feathers are generally pale and in some pure white.

Colours of soft parts as in levaillanti.

Measurements. Wing averaging over 330 mm. and running up to as much as 368 in two birds, one from Simla and one from Sikkim .

If birds from only the higher portions of their habitat were taken, the wing average would probably be well over 340 mm., but the average is greatly decreased by late summer birds, which may well be visitors from the plains wandering into the hills after breeding. Thus both in Murree and Mussoorie individuals occur with wings of about 290 mm. and there is a specimen in the British Museum from Gilgit with a wing of only 285 mm.

Distribution. The Himalayas from Afghanistan to Bhutan and ? Datla Hills.

Nidification. This form is essentially a jungle-breeder, though it may place its nest in forest not far from habitations. Round about Simla the deodar is a favourite nesting site, the nest being placed very high up and even better and inore compactly built than that of the plains' birds. The clutch is bigger also, five being not uncommon and six sometimes met with. The eggs average 44.8 x 30.0 mm. and are much more richly and brightly coloured than are the eggs of the plains' birds. The breeding season lasts from the middle of March to the end of May.

Habits. The Himalayan Jungle-Crow is found from the foot-hills up to at least 10,000 feet, though it may not be common at this elevation. Birds from the hot country below 1,000 or even 2,000 feet elevation are intermediate between the plains and the mountain forms and cannot be correctly assigned to either. This is, of course, the case in intermediate areas between geographical races of all species.

The Himalayan bird is not so much addicted to haunting the vicinity of human habitations as is the Common Jungle-Crow and pairs may be found inhabiting stretches of forest far from any camp or village. Its voice is notably louder and deeper than that of the plains' bird.

(8) Corvus coronoides andamanensis.

The Andaman Jungle-Crow.

Corvus andamanensis Tytler, Beavan, Ibis, 1S66, p. 420 (Pt. Blair, Andamans).

Corvus macrorhynchus. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 17.

Vernacular names. Kak-sorai, Jungla Kak-sorai (Assamese); Hagrani Dao-ka (Cachari); Inrui-kak (Kacha Naga); Vo-kak (Kuki); Taw-chegan (Burmese); Kwak (Siamese).

Description. This race is distinguished from the Himalayan bird by its long, very stout bill and from the other races by its greater size.

Measurements. Wing about 325 mm.; the males run from 304 to 345 mm. and the females from about 290 to 321 mm. The bill is very long, never under 58, generally well over 60 and running up to 70 mm., the average being about 65 mm. In addition to its length it is stouter and heavier than in any other form.

Distribution. Andamans, Assam, Burma, and North and West Siam. I cannot find any satisfactory character which suffices to separate the Andaman birds from the others. In all the island adults the bases to the feathers are very pure white, whereas in the Assam and Burmese birds they range from almost pure black to more than equally pure white. Northern birds have more white than southern, but even this is only a question of degree in average.

Nidification. In Assam and N. Burma almost entirely a jungle bird; in Central and Lower Burma it frequents the neighbourhood of human habitations more freely, occasionally building its nest in towns and villages. The nest is the neatest and best built of any made by Crows, and I have seen specimens made entirely of moss and moss roots and so neatly lined with hair and fur that they would have been a credit to any bird architect. The eggs number four to six and differ from those of intermedius in being duller, browner and darker in their general tint and being somewhat broader in proportion to their length. They average 43.1 × 31.6 mm. In Assam and Upper Burma the breeding season is during April and May but in Lower Burma and Siam January and February are the laying months.

Habits. These do not differ from those of the other Jungle-Crows, but over a considerable portion of their northern range they are shy, retiring birds, generally frequenting heavy forest and never scavenging round about villages. Each pair has its own territory over which it hunts and in the breeding season it is most destructive to other birds' eggs and young. It ascends the hills up to some 6,000 feet but is not common above this height, though it wanders up to 8,00 or even 9,000 feet. It occurs all over the plains except, perhaps, in the driest portions of Central Burma.

(9) Corvus frugilegus tschusii.

The Eastern Rook.

Corvus frugilegus tschusii Hartert, Vög. Pal., i. p. 14 (1903) (Gilgit).

Corvus frugilegus. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 18.

Vernacular names. None recorded. Description. The whole plumage black; the head, neck and lower plumage richly glossed with purplish blue, the upper plumage with violet-purple; the base of the bill and face without any feathers and showing up white.

The Eastern race differs from the typical bird in being smaller and especially in having a smaller, more slender bill.

Colours of soft parts. Bill and feet black; iris deep brown; facial skin white.

Measurements. Total length about 480 mm. or less; wing about 300 mm.; tail about 160 mm.; culmen 52 to 60 mm.

The Nestling is without any gloss at first, but quickly assumes it. Until about 10 to 12 months old the face is fully feathered; the nasal bristles are then cast, and by the time the bird is a year old the face is entirely denuded of feathers. Whitehead says that the Eastern form does not shed its facial feathers until April or until it is practically a year old.

Fig. 6. — Head of C. f. tschusii.

Nidification. The Eastern Rook breeds in Persia, Turkestan and North-West Siberia, and probably Ladakh. A nest taken for me by a native collecter was built on a small tree and contained three eggs, similar to those of the Common Rook and measuring 34.0 × 26.0; 33.6 × 25.9; and 34.1 × 25.0 mm. The female was shot on the nest.

Habits. The Eastern Rook is a very common winter visitor to the North-West Himalayas and occasionally wanders into the plains, having been killed at Abbottabad. Whitehead and Magrath report it as visiting Kohat in enormous numbers. The Rook frequents the better cultivated parts of the country and feeds in ploughed and grass-covered lands on worms, snails, grubs and grasshoppers, etc. In Europe the Western form breeds in large societies but there is little on record about the Eastern form.

(10) Corvus cornix sharpii.

The Eastern Hooded Crow.

Corvus sharpii Oates, Avifanna of B. I., i, p. 20 (1889) (Siberia).

Corvus cornix. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 19.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. Entire head and neck, the central part of the upper breast, the wings, tail and thighs glossy black; remainder of the plumage drab-grey; the shafts of the upper parts black, those of the lower brown.

The light parts in the Common Hooded Crow and ashy-grey of quite a different tint and the races are easily separable.

Colours of soft parts. Legs and bill black; irides dark brown.

Measurements. Total length about 480 mm.; wing about 320 to 340 mm.; tail about 200 mm.; culmen 47 to 54 mm.; tarsus about 55 mm.

Distribution. Breeding in West Siberia, Turkestan and Afghanistan, and migrating south to the extreme north-west of India, Punjab, Gilgit and the North-West Frontier. Rare visitor to Kashmir, where Mr. T. R. Livesey records seeing it; this was on Jan. 10th near the Hokra Jheel. The birds of S.E. Persia seem to be nearer to this race than to C. c. capellanus.

Nidification. Mr. A. J. Currie obtained what he considered to be this form of Hooded Crow breeding in great numbers in and about Kerman, S.E. Persia, at considerable elevations. The nests were of sticks, twigs, roots, etc., lined with somewhat finer material and placed in trees both evergreen and deciduous. The eggs number four or five and are laid in early April. They are quite indistinguishable from those of the Common Hooded Crow and measure about 42.2 × 29.6 mm. They vary in coloration to the same extent as all Crows' eggs do.

Habits. The Hooded Crow has much the same habits as the Carrion-Crow, being shy and frequenting the more barren parts of the countries in inhabits. In addition to eating the usual food of its ally, it is said to feed on grain and to be found in fields searching the ground like the Rook.

A common winter visitor to the extreme North-west of India.

This form of Hooded Crow as well as the European form seems to interbreed freely over part of their northern habitat with the Carrion-Crow.

Corvus splendens.

Key to Subspecies.

A.

Difference between grey and black portion of plumage well defined ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. s. splendens, p. 33.

B.

Pale portions of plumage very pale contrasting strongly with dark ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. s. zugmayeri, p. 34.

C.

Contrast between pale and dark plumage very slight and ill-defined ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. s. insolens, p. 34.

D.

Contrast between pale and dark plumage slight, yet easy to define ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. s. protegatus, p. 35.

(11) Corvus splendens splendens.

The Common Indian House-Crow.

Corvus splendens Vieill., Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat., viii, p. 44 (1817) (Bengal); Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 20.

Vernacular names. Kawa, Pati-kawa, Desi-kawar (Hindi in various districts); Kag or Kak (Bengali); Myen-Kwak (Manipur); Kak-sorai (Assam); Noni Das-kak (Cachari); Manchi Kaki (Tel.); Nalla Kaka (Tamil).

Description. Forehead, crown, lores, cheeks, chin and throat deep glossy black; nape, ear-coverts, the whole head, upper back and breast light ashy brown; wings, tail and remainder of upper plumage glossy black; lower plumage from the breast dull brownish black; the feathers of the throat are lanceolate and the whole of the black portions of the plumage are highly resplendent with purple-blue and greenish reflections.

Colours of soft parts. Iris dark brown; legs and bill black.

Measurements. Length about 420 to 440 mm.; wing from about 250 to 275 mm.; tail about 170 mm.; tarsus about 50 mm. and culmen 45 mm.

Distribution. The whole of India, except Sind and perhaps the extreme north-west, to the extreme south, Assam, Manipur, Lushai and the north of Arrakan and the Chin Hills.

Nidification. The breeding season varies very greatly according to locality. In the greater part of Bengal and its eastern range it breeds in March and April, but in Dacca I found it breeding in December, January and again in April and May; in its north-western range it breeds in May, June and July; and in Assam, Manipur and N. Burma in April and May. The nest is a rough affair of sticks lined with smaller twigs and other miscellaneous softer material, and is placed at all heights in trees, growing in and round about cities, towns and villages.

The eggs number four or five or sometimes six, very rarely seven. They are typical Crows' eggs and run through the same range of variations as do those of all the Corvidæ. The ground is any shade of blue-green, and the markings are of dull reddish and brown with secondary markings of grey and neutral tint, usually they are small and irregular in shape and are scattered profusely over the whole egg. The average of 100 eggs is 37.2 x 27 mm.

Habits. The Indian House-Crow is one of the most familiar birds throughout its habitat, whatever race it may belong to. It haunts human habitations and follows human beings as civilization gradually usurps the place of jungle or forest and wherever man is, there, sooner or later, it will surely be found. Probably originally purely a plains' bird it has followed rail and road routes into the hills almost everywhere, being now found in hill stations at elevations of 6,000 and 7,000 feet or even higher. Whitehead says that in the Kurram (this is probably zugmayeri) it remains in the hills all the year round except in very severe weather but in most of the higher haunts it is a winter visitor only. It is one of the boldest, yet one of the most astute of birds, and whilst on the one hand it will snatch food from the very hands of the Indian servants, a very few shots will keep every crow in the neighbourhood out of shot until the gun is put away. In many cities and towns they are so numerous as to become an actual pest and measures have to be taken to suppress them.

(12) Corvus splendens zugmayeri.

The Sind House-Crow.

Corvus zugmayeri Laubm., Orn. Monatab., xxi, p. 93 (1919) (Las Bela, S.E. Baluchistan).

Corvus splendens. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 20.

Vernacular names. Pat-Kawar (Hind.).

Description. Like C. s. splendens, but with the pale parts almost white and showing in sharp contrast to the black.

Colours of soft parts and Measurements as in the Common House-Crow.

Distribution. Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Sind, Mekran coast and S.E. Persia as far north as Fao. It is common in Kashmir, where it breeds, and wanders into the Punjab.

Nidification. The breeding season of the Sind House-Crow appears to commence in the latter half of June as soon as the monsoon breaks. It breeds in immense numbers all round and in Karachi and as nesting sites are here not too common, for trees are comparatively few, many eggs are thrown out of the nest during squabbles between the owner of the nest and other crows. Nest and eggs are like those of the other races but the nest is often placed on quite low bushes, especially if they are thorny ones.

Sixty eggs collected for me by General R. Betham average 37.5 × 25.8 mm.

Habits. These do not differ from those of the other races.

(13) Corvus splendens insolens.

The Burmese House-Crow.

Corvus insolens Hume, S. F., ii, p. 480 (1874) (Tenasserim); Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 21.

Vernacular names. Kyeegan, Chegan (Burmese). Description. Similar to the Indian House-Crow, but with the dark parts shading into the lighter, which are ill-defined and a blackish grey.

Distribution. Burma, Siam, Yunnan, Cochin China and the north of the Malay Peninsula. Its southern limit is not known, but it extends to villages some way south of Mergui.

Birds from Assam, N. Chin Hills and N. Arrakan are somewhat intermediate as would be expected, but are nearer splendens than insolens. Wickham reports that he found the Common Crow at Sandoway to be splendens and not the Burmese form.

Nidification. Indistinguishable from that of splendens. One hundred eggs average 35·1 x 26·1 mm.

Habits. In Burma this race takes the place of the Indian bird in every way, and is its equal in familiar insolence and crafty care for its own safety.

(14) Corvus splendens protegatus.

The Ceylon House-Crow.

Corvus splendens protegatus Madar., Orn. Monatsb., xii, p. 195 (1904) (Colombo).

Corvus splendens. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 20.

Vernacular names. Manchi Kaki (Tel.); Nalla Kaki (Tam.); Karari-Kaki, Kakum (Ceylon); Greya (Portuguese in Ceylon).

Description. Very similar to insolens, but the light parts are not quite so dark as in that race and are more easily defined from the black.

Colours of soft parts as in splendens.

Measurements. A rather smaller bird than splendens; wing generally between 220 and 250 mm.; other parts in proportion.

Distribution. Ceylon only. Specimens from the extreme south of Travancore are very dark compared with Northern Indian birds, but are nearer to those than to the small dark Ceylon subspecies.

Nidification. One hundred eggs collected by Messrs. W. E. Wait and W. W. A. Phillips average 34·8 x 25·6 mm., and are not distinguishable in colour from those of other races.

Habits. Though neither so numerous nor so ubiquitous in Ceylon as its confrères in other parts, there is no difference to be recorded in their habits.^[1]

(15) Corvus monedula sœmmeringii.

The Eastern Jackdaw.

Corvus sœmmeringii Fischer, Mém. Soc. Imp. Natur. Moscou, i, p. 3 (1811) (Moscow).

Corvus monedula. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 22.

Vernacular names. Paya (Tibetan).

Description. Forehead and crown glossy black; nape and hind neck dusky grey; sides of the head and neck light grey, almost white, and forming a half-collar on the posterior portion of the side of the neck; lores blackish; upper plumage, wings and tail bluish black with a considerable amount of gloss; chin and cheeks black with grey shaft-streaks; throat and fore neck entirely black; remainder of lower plumage slaty black with very little gloss.

Fig. 7. — Head of C. m. sœmmeringii.

Colours of soft parts. Iris nearly white; legs, feet and bill black.

Measurements. Length about 320 to 340 mm.; wing 230 to 250 mm.; tail about 135 mm.; tarsus about 44 mm.; culmen 32 to 34 mm.

Distribution. Breeding from Eastern Russia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, through Asia as far east as the Yenesei and south to Persia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Ladakh and Eastern Tibet. In winter it wanders into the plains, being numerous close to the Himalayas and having been found as far south as Ferozepore, Jhelum and Kalabagh, and as far east as Umballa.

Nidification. The Eastern Jackdaw breeds in great numbers in Kashmir, West Ladakh, Gilgit, etc., making its nest of all kinds of rubbish in old buildings, hollow trees and holes in cliffs. It lays four to seven eggs—of a very pale sea-green colour, sparsely marked with spots and specks of dark brown and purple. They average about 34.2 × 24.9 mm. in size but vary very much both in length and breadth, even in the same clutch. The breeding season commences in April but eggs may be found until the end of June.

Habits. This Jackdaw is in habits much the same as its western cousin but in the wilder parts of its habitat it is essentially a cliff bird. It is very fond of company, and numerous birds are often seen together, though it can hardly be called gregarious like the Rook. Its food consists of all kinds of grain, seeds, fruit and insects. It will also kill and eat mice, lizards and nestlings of other species, though not nearly to the same extent as the Carrion-Crow or Raven.

Our Indian and Central Asian bird has been again separated by Kleinschmidt as having the under parts darker and the wing longer than in Russian birds but the fine series in the British Museum does not endorse this diagnosis.

1. Corvus splendens maledevicus Rchw. (Wiss. Erg. D. Tiefsee-Exp., p. 356, 1904) appears to be described from some form of House-Crow imported into the Maldives. Only a single specimen was obtained. It is impossible to say what race this bird is, and the name cannot be maintained.