Male: glistening black head and upper back; deep scarlet lower back and rump; black and scarlet wings and tail; black throat, scarlet below. Female: rich yellow forehead, supercilium; grey-yellow above; yellow and black wings and tail; bright yellow underbody. Pairs or small parties; sometimes several dozen together; keeps to canopy of tall trees; actively flits about to hunt for insects; also launches aerial sallies after winged insects; often seen in mixed hunting parties of birds; spectacular sight of black, scarlet and yellow as flock flies over forest, especially when seen from above.

Male: bright golden-yellow plumage; black stripe through eye; black wings and centre of tail. Female: yellow-green above; brownish-green wings; dirty-white below, streaked brown. Young male much like female. Solitary or in pairs; arboreal, sometimes moving with other birds in upper branches; regularly visits fruiting and flowering trees; hunts insects in leafy branches; usually heard, surprisingly not often seen, despite bright colour; seen only when it emerges on bare branch or flies across.

Sexes alike. Black plumage; grey collar, upper back and breast; glossy black on forehead, crown and throat. The Eurasian Jackdaw C. monedula (33cm) is  similar to the House Crow, but is smaller, thicker-necked and white-eyed; it is common in Kashmir. Described as an extension of man’s society; street-smart, sharp, swift, sociable, sinister, the crow is almost totally commensal on man; snatches food from tables and shops; mobs other birds, even large raptors; performs important scavenging services; occasionally flies very high into skies, either when flying long distance, or simply for fun; communal roost sites.

Sexes alike. Pale grey from crown to middle of back; bright rufous from then on to the rump; black forehead, band through eye; white ‘mirror’ in black wings;  whitish underbody, tinged pale rufous on lower breast and flanks. Mostly solitary; boldly defends feeding territory; keeps lookout from conspicuous perch; pounces onto ground on sighting prey; said to store surplus in ‘larder’, impaling prey on thorns; nicknamed Butcher-bird.