294 Birds of Colorado 



Horse Creek, forty miles east of Colorado Springs, 

 on the plains. The eggs, according to Bendire, are 

 usually four to six in number, and though varying a good 

 deal in colour and markings, are usually greenish, with 

 characteristic longitudinal, rather fine streaks and 

 blotches of lilac and drab. They average 1-74 x I'll) 

 in measurement. 



Western Crow. Corvus brachyrhynchos hesperis. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 448b — Colorado Records — Ridgway 79, p. 230 

 (C. americanus) ; Stephens 78, p. 94 ; Drew 81, p. 143 ; 85, p. 16 ; 

 Dille 86, p. 15 ; 03, p. 74 ; Morrison 88, p. 107 ; 89, p. 147 ; Bums 

 95, pp. 1-41 ; Barrows & Schwarz 95, pp. 1-98 ; Cooke 97, pp. 92, 

 210; Gilman 07, p. 155; Markman 08, p. 157; Warren 09, p. 15; 

 Henderson 09, p. 233. 



Description. — Adult — Plumage black throughout with a gloss of 

 metallic purple ; feathers of the throat not elongate or lanceolate ; 

 iris brown, bill and legs black. Length 17-0; wing 11-70; tail 70; 

 culmen 1-80; tarsus 2-15. The female is slightly smaller than 

 the male ; the young bird is duller and less glossy, and has a 

 greyish iris. 



Distribution. — The Western Crow only differs from the Crow of the 

 east in its sUghtly smaller size and more slender bill. It is found 

 throughout western North America (except the north-western coast 

 from Puget Sound northwards) from British Columbia to south-west 

 Texas, and is a resident except perhaps in the extreme south, where 

 it is not known to breed. 



In Colorado the Crow is almost unknown except in the north-east 

 and south-western parts of the State, where, however, it is compara- 

 tively common and resident. It is abundant near Fort Collins (Cooke) 

 and breeds commonly near Greeley (Dille) ; it has been found nesting 

 on Clear Creek in Jefferson co., near Denver. It has been noticed on 

 one or two occasions in Boulder co. (Henderson). Near Colorado 

 Springs it is very rare ; there are two examples in the Aiken collection, 

 one a partial albino, from the immediate neighbourhood of the Springs, 

 and another from the upper valley of the Monument Creek twenty 

 miles to the north, obtained in November. Stephens secured several 

 in South Park in October some years ago. In La Plata co. in the 

 extreme south-west comer of the State it has been recorded as common, 

 especially in winter, by Drew, Morrison and Gilman, and near Coventry 

 in spring and fall by Warren, but no nest was found. It does not seem 

 to ascend above 8,000 feet at the most. 



