Clarke's Nutcracker 295 



Habits. — The Western Crow appears to be a less wary 

 and suspicious bird than its eastern cousin, probably 

 because it has had less contact with man. Its food 

 consists chiefly of insects, slugs and grubs in the summer, 

 but in the fall and winter grain and seeds, especially 

 corn, are eaten in large quantities, and its benefit or 

 harmfulness from the farmers' point of view seems to 

 be about evenly balanced. In the east the Crow 

 associates during the fall and winter in enormous flocks, 

 which roost together in special woods, generally near 

 a stream, but I have not heard of such roosts in Colorado. 



The Western Crow generally builds its nest in cotton- 

 wood trees along the valleys of streams. Dille has found 

 many nests in the neighbourhood of the South Platte, 

 near Greeley ; the date for a full set of eggs is April 27th 

 to May 8th ; the eggs are five or six in number, and are 

 greenish in colour, with irregular spots and blotches 

 of brown or grey ; they average 1"63 X 1'15. 



Genus NUCIFRAGA. 



Birds of moderate size, wing less than 8-0, with a rather long and 

 slender bill ; the culmen rounded not ridged ; nostrils rather basally 

 placed, and completely concealed by short, stiff plumes ; wings long 

 and pointed, nearly reaching the tip of the tail when closed, and 

 considerably exceeding it in length ; tail slightly rovmded. Plumage 

 grey, black and white. 



This genus is confined to the northern and mountainous regions 

 of Europe, Asia and North America. Four species are generally 

 recognized ; only one of these is found in America. 



Clarke's Nutcracker. Nucifraga columbiana. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 491— Colorado Records— Aiken 72, p. 203; 

 Trippe 74, p. 209 ; Henshaw 75, p. 328 ; Scott 79, p. 94 ; Drew 81, 

 p. 139 ; 85, p. 16 ; Goss 83, p. 44 ; 89, p. 123 ; Stone 84, p. 20 ; 

 Batchelder 84, p. 16 ; Morrison 88, p. 107 ; 89, p. 147 ; Bendire 89, 

 p. 226 ; 90, p. 92 ; 95, p. 418 ; Lowe 94, p. 269 ; McGregor 97, p. 38 ; 

 Cooke 97, pp. 92, 163, 210 ; Henderson 03, p. 236 ; 09, p. 234 ; Gihnan 

 07, p. 155 ; Warren 08, p. 22 ; Rockwell 08, p. 168. 



