22. Pastor (Rose-coloured Starling). Bill slightly arched, forming an elongated cone, compressed; nostrils at the base of the bill partly covered by a feathery membrane; wings with the first primary very short, second and third longest.

[Page 56]

FAMILY CORVIDÆ
(Crows)

Bill powerful, more or less compressed at the sides; upper mandible more or less arched to the point without distinct notch; gape nearly straight; nostrils concealed by stiff bristles. Hallux very strong, but with its claw not as long as the middle toe and claw. Birds of firm and compact structure; their wings long, pointed, and powerful; their feet and claws robust. In disposition bold and daring, extremely sagacious, easily tamed and made familiar. Most of them have the power of imitating various sounds, but their natural voices are harsh. They evince a remarkable propensity for thieving and hiding brilliant and gaudy substances. In appetite they are omnivorous.

23. Pyrrhócorax (Chough). Bill longer than the head, rather slender, arched from the base, and pointed; nostrils oval; feet strong, tarsus longer than the middle toe; wings rounded, first primary short, fourth and fifth the longest; tail even at the end.

[Page 56]

24. Nucífraga (Nutcracker). Bill about as long as the head, straight, conical, the base dilated, and dividing the feathers of the forehead; mandibles blunt, the upper somewhat the longer; nostrils round; wings rather long and pointed; first primary shorter than the second and third, fourth longest; tail nearly even.

[Page 57]

25. Gárrulus (Jay). Bill shorter than the head, conical; both mandibles equally curved, the upper notched near the tip; crown feathers forming a crest; wings rounded, fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries nearly equal, and the longest; tarsus longer than the middle toe; tail moderate, slightly rounded.