280 CROWS, JAYS, MAGPIES, ETC. 



ravens echoes back from cliff and wall. The higher and more inac- 

 cessible the cliff and the more barren and deserted the valley below 

 the better suited are the ravens and the more freely do they soar 

 and croak, flying singly or in pairs, up and down along the face 

 of the cliff with a spirited wildness that harmonizes well with their 

 background. Suspicious, wary pirates they are, always on the de- 

 fensive to evade attack, keeping well out of rifle range of man, 

 and often forced to mount to almost invisible heights to avoid mob- 

 bing attacks from small birds that seem to have permanent wrongs 

 to avenge. 



They descend to lake and river shores for dead fish or whatever 

 the waves wash up in the way of food, make a few meals from a 

 dead sheep, feast on what is left when a hunter dresses a deer, and 

 are accused of helping out their varied bill of fare with eggs and 

 young from any birds' nest that comes handy. Their own nests, 

 placed in a niche half way up some perpendicular cliff, usually bids 

 defiance to all enemies. Vernon Bailey. 



486a. C. C. principalis Ridgw. Northern Raven. 



Like the American raven, but larger, with larger and heavier bill ; tarsus 

 shorter and stouter ; more of upper part concealed by feathering- of thighs. 

 Length: 22.00-26.50, wing 16.50-18.00, tail 9.20-10.50, exposed culmen 

 2.65-3.45. 



Distribution. — Northern North America from Greenland west to Alaska, 

 south to Washington, northern Miciiigan, New York, and Maine, and south 

 in the mountains to North Carolina. 



Nest. — On cliffs and in trees, made of sticks lined with seaweed, grasses, 

 mosses, or hair. Eggs: 4 to 6, greenish or drab, usually prof usely blotched 

 and spotted with browns, drab, and lavender. 



Food. — Largely fish offal and refuse ; also clams, and eggs and young 

 of waterfowl. 



The northern raven resembles the American in general habits and 

 call-notes, and is usually most abundant in the immediate vicinity 

 of Indian camps on the seashore or on the banks of large rivers in 

 the interior. 



487. Corvus cryptoleucus Couch. White-necked Raven. 



Black, upper parts glossed with purplish ; feathers of neck pure white at 

 6ase, nasal tufts covering more than basal half of upper mandible. Length : 

 18.75-21.00, wing 13.10-14.25, tail 7.50-8.00, exposed culmen 2.00-2.35. 



Distribution. — Mainly Lower Sonoran zone from Texas to southern Cali- 

 fornia, and from western Kansas and southern Colorado south through 

 northern Mexico. 



Nest. — Poorly made, usually of thorny twigs lined with yucca fibers, 

 deer hair, rabbit fur, bark, grass, or moss ; placed only 7 to 20 feet from 

 the ground, often in a yucca top. Eggs : 3 to 8, green, with longitudinal 

 marks of gray, brown, and lavender, sometimes partly hidden by brown 

 spots and blotches. 



Food. — Principally animal matter, including cicadas ; also refuse grain. 



