Corvus corax, _Linn., Jerd. B. Ind. ii_, p. 293.
Corvus lawrencii, _Hume_; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E_. no. 657.
I separated the Punjab Raven under the name of _Corvus lawrencei_
('Lahore to Yarkand,' p. 83), and I then stated, what I wish now to
repeat, that if we are prepared to consider _C. corax, C. littoralis,
C. thibetanus_, and _C. japonensis_ all as one and the same species,
then _C. lawrencei_ too must be suppressed; but if any of these are
retained as distinct, then so must _C. lawrencei_ be[A].
[Footnote A: I think it impossible to separate the Punjab Raven
from the Ravens of Europe and other parts of the world, and I have
therefore merged it into _C. corax_.--ED.]
The Punjab Raven breeds throughout the Punjab (except perhaps in the
Dehra Ghazee Khan District), in Bhawulpoor, Bikaneer, and the northern
portions of Jeypoor and Jodhpoor, extending rarely as far south as
Sambhur. To Sindh it is merely a seasonal visitant, and I could not
learn that they breed there, nor have I ever known of one breeding
anywhere east of the Jumna. Even in the Delhi Division of the Punjab
they breed sparingly, and one must go further north and west to find
many nests.
The breeding-season lasts from early in December to quite the end of
March; but this varies a little according to season and locality,
though the majority of birds always, I think, lay in January.
The nest is generally placed in single trees of no great size,
standing in fields or open jungle. The thorny Acacias are often
selected, but I have seen them on Sisoo and other trees.
The nest, placed in a stout fork as a rule, is a large, strong,
compact, stick structure, very like a Rook's nest at home, and like
these is used year after year, whether by the same birds or others of
the same species I cannot say. Of course they never breed in company:
I _never_ found two of their nests within 100 yards of each other,
and, as a rule, they will not be found within a quarter of a mile of
each other.
Five is, I think, the regular complement of eggs; very often I have
only found four fully incubated eggs, and on two or three occasions
six have, I know, been taken in one nest, though I never myself met
with so many.
I find the following old note of the first nest of this species that I
ever took:--
"At Hansie, in Skinner's Beerh, December 19, 1867, we found our first
Raven's nest. It was in a solitary Keekur tree, which originally of no
great size had had all but two upright branches lopped away. Between
these two branches was a large compact stick nest fully 10 inches deep
and 18 inches in diameter, and not more than 20 feet from the ground.
It contained five slightly incubated eggs, which the old birds evinced
the greatest objection to part with, not only flying at the head of
the man who removed them, but some little time after they had been
removed similarly attacking the man who ascended the tree to look at
the nest. After the eggs were gone, they sat themselves on a small
branch above the nest side by side, croaking most ominously, and
shaking their heads at each other in the most amusing manner, every
now and then alternately descending to the nest and scrutinizing every
portion of the cavity with their heads on one side as if to make sure
that the eggs were really gone."
Mr. W. Theobald makes the following note of this bird's nidification
in the neighbourhood of Pind Dadan Khan and Katas in the Salt Range:--
"Lay in January and February; eggs, four only; shape, ovato-pyriform;
size, 1·7 by 1·3; colour, dirty sap green, blotched with blackish
brown; also pale green spotted with greenish brown and neutral; nest
of sticks difficult to get at, placed in well-selected trees or holes
in cliffs."
I have not verified the fact of their breeding in holes in cliffs, but
it is very possible that they do. All I found near Pind Dadan Khan
and in the Salt Range were doubtless in trees, but I explored a very
limited portion of these hills.
Colonel C.H.T. Marshall, writing from Bhawulpoor on the 17th February,
says: "I succeeded yesterday in getting four eggs of the Punjab Raven.
The eggs were hard-set and very difficult to clean."
From Sambhur Mr. R.M. Adam tells us:--"This Raven is pretty common
during the cold weather, but pairs are seen about here throughout the
year. They are very fond of attaching themselves to the camps of the
numerous parties of Banjaras who visit the lake.
"I obtained a nest at the end of January which contained three eggs,
and a fourth was found in the parent bird. The nest was about 15 feet
from the ground in a Kaggera tree (_Acacia leucophloea_) which stood
on a bare sandy waste with no other tree within half a mile in any
direction."
The eggs of the Punjab bird are, as might be expected, much the same
as those of the European Raven. In shape they are moderately broad
ovals, a good deal pointed towards the small end, but, as in the
Oriole, greatly elongated varieties are very common, and short
globular ones almost unknown. The texture of the egg is close and
hard, but they usually exhibit little or no gloss. In the colour of
the ground, as well as in the colour, extent, and character of the
markings, the eggs vary surprisingly. The ground-colour is in some
a clear pale greenish blue; in others pale blue; in others a dingy
olive; and in others again a pale stone-colour. The markings are
blackish brown, sepia and olive-brown, and rather pale inky purple.
Some have the markings small, sharply defined, and thinly sprinkled:
others are extensively blotched and streakily clouded; others are
freckled or smeared over the entire surface, so as to leave but
little, if any, of the ground-colour visible. Often several styles of
marking and shades of colouring are combined in the same egg. Almost
each nest of eggs exhibits some peculiarity, and varieties are
endless. With sixty or seventy eggs before one, it is easy to pick out
in almost every case all the eggs that belong to the same nest, and
this is a peculiarity that I have observed in the eggs of many members
of this family. All the eggs out of the same nest usually closely
resemble each other, while almost _any_ two eggs out of different
nests are markedly dissimilar.
They vary from 1·72 to 2·25 in length, and from 1·2 to 1·37 in width;
but the average of seventy-two eggs measured is 1·94 by 1·31.
Mandelli's men found four eggs of the larger Sikhim bird in Native
Sikhim, high up towards the snows, where they were shooting
Blood-Pheasants.
These eggs are long ovals, considerably pointed towards one end;
the shell is strong and firm, and has scarcely any gloss. The
ground-colour is pale bluish green, and the eggs are smudged and
clouded all over with pale sepia; on the top of the eggs there are a
few small spots and streaks of deep brownish black. They were found on
the 5th March, and vary in length from 1·83 to 1·96, in breadth from
1·18 to 1·25.