make an entire reformation Illiger, with hi» usual judgment,
perceived the evil and attempted its remedy;;|dm&±his gemr§t'Was
still too' extensive,, and« besides iwa s not' n atur al j ns'it included the
Wage-wings, a very distinct genus,^tbat*4h^<t'always.'been, forced intp
others. .Theonly advanta'geit. possessed Over that of.Latham; Was*
that' all the- speeies-it:Comprised> exhibited .its 'artificial characters,.
As restrictedby Brisson/VieilIot,and lately adopted by Temminok,
by Wh.omit’was previously ^pch* Hmitedy it is perfectly natural:;
though we cannot help remarking that *nme even ®£ the eighteen
species yhu,merited by the’latter in his articlexnnjfhe generalities
of the Crows, in the Planches Colariees, Snay again beseparated, such
&h'Gbrvus'colmnbianus;-Wils'.-, whiohi ought ^perhaps to Gonstitut#«:
genus by itself. Vieillot, .and other recent, writers on ornithology^
have dong smGe' adopted the genus Garrulus as distinct even? from
Pica, though we prefer' retaining the latter merely as a^subgCBus
of Garrulus,*Aiee, it is':absolutely -impossible to draw ^ h ® © f
separation -between them without resorting to minute and copfipl h
oated distinctions.
T h e Jay s and Magpies in fact-require to be distingufehfe#;fro>jn
the Crows, as a genus, onrUccount of their form;®6four; habitsy gnd
even' tbe iri ©sicous ^ tra ^ to e ^ j>Thfeh»mpper mandible, some^kSf’
inflected a t tip, and the navicular /shape pf th e lowe#/ afford,
©hvinusy characteristic marksA' T h e ir wings tpo are rather* short,,
and do not re a c h by: a c o i^ le ra b le space do the tip of the tad ,
Which is'long, andesum® or less rounded, sometimes gr'eatly wedge-
shaped. ‘ On the contra||Sbthe Grows have, I te g Wings*1 »reaching
almostvOir.quite^io She fUteremity»of th e ta il/ whichsi®;short,
even a t tap. t ^ h c i^ n titm ji^ th c shape o fth e iw in g s and ta il/ and
even-the.colours of" th e irp lum ag e , which agrfee in all the species?
and irf d iffe re n td im a te s, render. thehGrows a* «very natural and
Well marked group. • T h e black-* piuanage,» :and< offensive odour,
w h i ^ GaUse#heln to be«vieWCd every Where with, disgust, and even
some^iat o f superstitious dread^Ure far from being characteristics
of theuleat and elegant Jàys.
T h e Bill
vgrytstoufr; ufe.et ,very strong; ? gênerai form «ijBbusJ/; flight highly
sustainedÿstraight, or eircUilar/jasiiftpeTforming evolutions in 'th e
. :liv#Jj> travel, and |
plains iand *cultivated grounds, ©nlpuÉWiEgto?fhCiadjacentforests
to. roost, and are àlwàys4seen ^»iuhigh and-naked treesifbutïhéveiS
qn thickets, shrubs,'-onfbu&hesv. /T h e ir iptfceljfis deep and hOarsef,
l i l ^ ^ are mom or,less fond of ®àtt-fe,MS'bmfe -spemCJSfPUety-ing oji the*
vermin* thatajnfest,?them. Though devouring «all fkinds. of food/
y e t their;« propensity^ is’jndecidedly-, caaAis^nous^cjsiffl^heisl, black,
unip,ri^dÀ^l#iÈrs,«^iC#^i*mîarkably Opposed, to -i the* b r ig h t sa n d
cheerful vesture of ;ih>U;4s|^^hi^e#^lumàgeî is of a . much looser
texture, the f a th e r s being longcr«and muchumore downy*,**.
T he Jays *are again--; more .particularlyhdhtigguishe^fçQim 4he-
Magpies by their head-feathers being long and silky, and always
.tytec tdey'(especially when the bird*isîexcited n r .angi>y-)<e\ ojl when
they a r e as,,is «tbtofegse^’i an,y ^ppiglfejs^
Th*eir colours-aré also gayér and mmfevbriRiant,-?with nxqre/p^Mess;
of b'luCc» T bc ipeciies?iofpb'Oththese seetwnssareigârridous/'nq^y,-
and inquisitive. Together with -the^Crosvs,jffehfc^fôretjeminei^ly
distinguished by th e ir stout, cu ltra tq 'b ill, «generally, feôyqre.dw a t
base with setaceous, incumbent, porrect feathers, hiding the nostrils.
T h e femalei iisf/similar itQgijbe male i n appear%ncej-.%andjthe
young* differ b u t little, «and ©#W* duriTiy ^tbei^first iCear. from the
adult. They, are «very shy/* «suspicious, possesSedgof an aoûté tâensfe
of smelling, and evince g®ea%f^gacihyiW-a|ï#|djngPnaa^v; «They
are omnivorous in-.-the fulle st extent-vofj the ;word?-,ifqcs|$Bgi&®n
grainSs-'insCGts; berries, ,aud':eveUHflesh .. an d . When tbb$
have caughtr adsmall bird, «whi^h they can otdy a^ When* feeble
and; sickJy/COr^ensnhredy nJhey« place -it under their -«feet, ;and «with