PICA B ACTKJ ANA, äonap.
PICA B ACTRIANA, Bonap,
AtFghan Magpie.
Pica caudata, B lyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xv. p. 26.—Id. Cat. of B irds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta, p. 9i . _
Iiu tto n , Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xvi. p. 778.
lactriana, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., tom. i. p. 383.—Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in M us. E a s t Ind. Comp.,
vol. ii. p. 550.
Akha, Cabul, Hutton.
It has often struck me that the more stupendous the mountain-ranges, the larger and more powerful are
the animals frequenting them, whethermammals, birds, or insects; and I could, were it necessary, adduce
many instances in confirmation of this being the case; but I will here merely mention that, of the numerous
species of true Magpies forming the well-defined genus Pica, those inhabiting the high lands of the O ld World,
known as the Himalayan and Thibetan ranges, are much larger and finer than those o f other countries. Of
these larger and finer species the present bird is an example. It bears a general resemblance to the
common Pica caudata of Europe and the P . leucoptera o f Siberia; bufc on a careful comparison with those
birds, it is found to present several points o f difference: it is larger and more powerful than either of th em ;
its correspondingly large tail is even more highly coloured; its rump is crossed by a very distinct band of
wh ite; and the white on the primaries is of greater extent than m its European ally, but not so extensive as
in P . leucoptera; in all other respects the three birds are very similar.
O f the P . bactriana I have numerous specimens now before me from Affghanistan and Thibet, which
countries appear to be the head-quarters of the species, and where it performs the same offices, and exhibits
the same habits, manners, and disposition, that our own bird does in Europe, the Pica media in China, the
P . leucoptera in Siberia, and the P . Hudsonica and P.Jlavirostris in America.
“ The Afghan Magpie,” says Captain Hutton, “ is found all the year round, from Quettali to Giriskh, and
is very common. They breed in March, and the young are fledged by the end o f April. The nest is like
that o f the European bird, and all its manners are precisely the same.”
A very fine series of these birds is contained in the collection a t the India Museum, Scotland Yard; and
my thanks are due to the Secretary of State for India and to Mr. Moore for the use of them in furtherance
o f the present work.
Crown black, slightly glossed with g reen ; remainder of the head, neck, back, and breast black; the throat-
feathers open in texture, and terminating in a bristle ; scapularies, abdomen, flanks, and a band across the
lower part of the back pure w hite; upper and under tail-coverts, vent, and thighs black ; lesser wing-coverts
black; greater coverts, spurious wing, secondaries, and tertiaries glossed with green and blue, and a few of
the secondaries with a stripe of yellowish green along the centre of their outer webs; outer webs o f the
primaries, their tips, and the margin of the apical portion of the inner webs dark bronzy g ree n ; the inner
webs, with the exception of the apical portion of their margins, pure white; two centre tail-feathers rich
bronzy green nearly to the end, when that colour passes into rich purple, then blue, and lastly bluish g re e n ;
the lateral feathers are similarly coloured on their outer webs and at the tip of their inner webs, the basal
portion o f the latter being black, glossed with blue; irides blackish brown; bill, feet, and legs black.
Total length 21 inches ; bill 2 ; wing of specimens from Ladakh from 7 \ to 8f ; tail 13; tarsi 2.
The front figure represents the bird of the size o f life.