ERKOOM, an Abyssinian bird, part of a large tribe, "in which (says Mr Bruce) the greatest variety lies in his beak and horn. The horn he wears sometimes upon the beak and sometimes upon the forehead above the root of the beak." This bird is by naturalists called the Indian crow or raven; and our author, though he seems to think this classification improper, admits that he has one characteristic of the raven; he walks, and does not hop or jump in the manner that many others of that kind do; but then he at times runs with very great velocity, and, in running, very much resembles the turkey or bustard when his head is turned from you. The colour of the eye of this bird is of a dark brown, or rather reddish, cast, but darker still as it approaches the pupil; he has very large eyelashes, both upper and lower, but especially his upper. From the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail is three feet ten inches; the breadth, from one point of the wing to the other extended, is six feet, and the length twenty-two inches; the length of the neck ten inches, and its thickness three inches and a half; the length of the beak, measuring the opening near the head straight to the point, ten inches; and from the point of the beak to the root of the horn, seven inches and three eighths. The whole length of the horn is three inches and a half. The length of the horn, from the foot to the extremity where it joins the beak, is four inches. The thickness of the beak in front of the opening is one inch and seven eighths. The thickness of the horn in front is one inch and five eighths. The horn in height, taken from the upper part of the point to the beak, two inches. The length of the thighs seven inches, and that of the legs six inches and five eighths. The thickness in profile seven lines, and in front four lines and a half. It has three toes before and one behind, but they are not very strong, nor seemingly made to tear up carcasses. The length of the foot to the hinder toe is one inch six lines, the innermost is one inch seven lines, the middle two inches two lines, and the last outer one two inches one line. This bird is all of a black, or rather black mixed with foot-colour; the large feathers of the wing are ten in number, milk-white both without and within. The tip of his wings reaches very nearly to his tail; his beak and head measured together are eleven inches and a half, and his head three inches and a quarter. At his neck he has those protuberances like the Turkey-cock, which are light-blue, but turn red upon his being chased, or in the time the hen is laying. The erkoom, though not easily raised, flies. (says our author) both strong and far. It has a rank smell, and is said in Abyssinia to feed upon dead carcasses. This, however, he thinks a mistake, as he never saw it following following the army, nor approaching a dead carcass; and as often as he had occasion to open this bird, he found in its stomach nothing but the green scarabaeus or beetle. It builds in large thick trees, always, if it can, near churches; has a covered nest like that of a magpie, but four times as large as the eagle's. It places its nest firm upon the trunk, without endeavouring to make it high from the ground: the entry is always on the east side.