BLACK OR IRIDESCENT BLACK 405 



locally ill small numbers, nesting in colonies on the 

 high perpendicular clilFs. Dr. ^Merriam reports it from 

 Inyo County, California, and Dr. A. K. Fisher writes of it 

 in the '' Ornithology of the Death Valley Expedition " as 

 follows : " The Black Swift was first observed at Owens 

 Lake near Keeler, California, where a number were seen 

 flying back and forth over the salt meadows. . . . When 

 the flock left the marsh it rose high in the air and went 

 in the direction of the clifls in the Inyo Mountains, 

 where a colony was evidently breeding/' 



In flight this species are even more rapid and graceful 

 than the chinniey swifts, rarely if ever alighting on the 

 ground or in trees. 



Their food consists of small insects caught in their 

 large mouths while flying swiftly through the air. 



486. AMERICAN RAVEN. — Corvus corax iinuatus. 

 Family : The Crows, Jays, Magpies, etc. 



Length: 21.50-26.00. 



Adults: Entire plumage iridescent black, with purple .and green lights ; 



feathers of the throat lanceolate, distinct from one another ; feathers 



of the neck dull gray at the base. 

 Geographical Distribution : From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ; 



from Canada to Guatemala. 

 Breeding Range: Southern California and islands adjacent. Recorded 



north to Red Blutt" and Humboldt l^ay. 

 Breeding Season : March 15 to June 1. 

 Nest : Bulky structure ; of coarse sticks ; liui-d with bark, wool, or goats' 



liair ; placed in trees or on clifTs according to locality, which is always 



inaccessible. 

 Eggs: 5 to 7 ; thickly spotted with brown, purple, anil gray. Size 1.92 



X 1.27. 



Throughout the coast district of California, '* wher- 

 ever tall bare cliff's rise from the valleys and deep, steep- 



