The BALD-HEADED CROW (_Picathartes gymnocephalus_) is an extremely
peculiar and very rare member of this family, inhabiting Sierra Leone,
and we believe entirely confined to that country, but we cannot
speak with any certainty on this point, as naturalists are still
quite unacquainted with its habits. This species would seem to form a
connecting link between the Ravens and the Vultures, birds between which
there is usually but little similarity. The beak of the Bald-headed Crow
is comparatively weak, but slightly curved, and covered at its base with
a cere in place of the bristles that are generally so characteristic of
the Raven tribe. The wings are powerful and rounded, the tail long and
graduated, and the feet high and furnished with strong toes. The head
is entirely bare, and the throat, like that of the Vulture, overspread
with bristly or down-like feathers. The plumage is of a brownish grey
above and white beneath; the wings and tail are reddish brown, the bare
or sparingly covered neck red, the beak black, and the feet yellow.
According to Gray, this bird is about fifteen inches long, the wing
measures rather more than six inches, and the tail six inches and ten
lines.
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The TREE CROWS, or JAYS (_Garruli_), are distinguished from the Ravens by
their blunt short beaks, with or without a hook at the extremity, their
weak feet and very short rounded wings, long graduated tails, and rich
variegated plumage, which is generally very soft and flocculent. Unlike
the members of the preceding family, the various species of Jays pass the
greater part of the day in flying from tree to tree in their favourite
woods, seldom coming to the ground, and still more rarely congregating
in large flocks. Owing to the comparative shortness of their wings,
their flight is unsteady, and they are therefore incapable of attaining
to any considerable height, or of hovering in or whirling through the
air; still more inelegant is their mode of progression on the ground, it
being nothing more than a ludicrous attempt at a hop: upon the trees,
however, they are quite at their ease, and some even exhibit unusual
facility in climbing. In the perfection of their senses they are in no
way inferior to the family above described, but their intelligence is
not nearly so great, and they must be rather considered sly than clever;
indeed, in many points they resemble the Shrike, possessing all the
murderous cruelty and rapacity of that bird, without any of the courage
and boldness that seem to palliate the atrocities committed by Ravens.
They will mercilessly destroy and plunder the nests of other birds, and
eat almost any animal or vegetable food, frequently doing great damage by
their raids upon orchards, fields, and gardens, thus bringing down upon
themselves the vengeance of man. In their habits during the period of
incubation they also differ widely from the preceding family, inasmuch
as they never build associated together in large numbers, but quite
apart from each other; their nests, moreover, are small, and the brood
is usually composed of from five to seven eggs. When tamed, some of them
are capable of imitating words, and of learning to whistle tunes, but
they are extremely troublesome, owing to the numberless petty thefts and
annoying tricks in which they delight.
* * * * *
We shall divide the Tree Crows or Jays into several groups, all more or
less recognisable by the following characters:--Their bodies are slender,
their Raven-like beaks are as long as the head, nearly straight, and
provided at the base with a cere, instead of bristly feathers; the wings
are short, and their third and fourth quills longer than the rest; the
tail, which is composed of twelve feathers, is either very long and
wedge-shaped, or of moderate length and rounded at the extremity. The
lax and soft plumage frequently becomes flowing towards the head, thus
forming a kind of crest, and is usually bright in its coloration.