THE WESTERN CROW. 



does unquesliiinabh" breed here. A nest was reported tO' us o« a cliff in the 

 Crab Creek Coulee. While we were unable to visit it in season, we did come 

 upon a family group some w^eeks later, comprising the two adults and five 

 grown young. This is possibl_\- the northernmost breeding station of the 

 Mexican Raven yet rq>orted. 



No. 3. 



WESTERN CROW. 



A. O. U. No. 488b. Corvus brachyrhynchos hesperis (Ridgw.). 



Synonyms. — California Crow. Common Ckow. American Crov^'. 



Description. — Entire plumage glossy black, for the most part with greenish 

 blue, steel-blue, and purplish reflections; feathers of the neck normal, rounded. 

 Bill and feet black; iris brown. Length 16.00-20.00; wing 12.00 (302); tail 

 6.70 (170) ; bill 1.83 (46.5) ; depth at nostril .65 ( 16.5). Female averages smaller 

 than male. 



Recognition Marks. — Distinguishable from Northwest Crow by larger size 

 and clearer voice. 



Nesting. — Nest: a neat hemisphere of sticks and twigs carefully lined with 

 bark, roots and trash, and placed 10-60 feet high in trees, — willow, aspen, pine, 

 or fir. Eggs: 4-6, usually 5, same coloring as Raven's. Occasionally fine :iiark- 

 ings produce a uniform olive-green, or even olive-brown effect. Av. size 1.66 

 X i.if (42.2 X 29.5). Season: April is-May 15; one brood. 



General Range. — Western United States from Rocky Mts. to Pacific Coast, 

 save shores of northwestern \\"ashington, north in the interior of British 

 Columbia, south to Arizona. 



Range in Washington. — Of general distribution along streams and in settled 

 portions of State, save along shores of Puget Sound, the Straits, and the Pacific 

 north of Gray's Harbor. Not found in the mountains nor the deeper forests, 

 and only locally on the sage-brush plains. 



Migrations. — Resident but gregarious and localized in winter. The winter 

 "roosts" break up late in February. 



Authorities. — Corvus americantts And., Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 

 1858, 566 (part). Brewster, B. N. O. C. VH. 227. T. Cfv:S. D'. Kb. Ra. D-'. 

 Ss'. Ss-'. la-. J. B. E. 



Specimens. — BN( ?). 



WHILE the Raven holds a secure place in mythology and literature, it 

 is the Crow, rather, which is the object of common notice. No landscape is too 

 poor to boast this jetty adornment ; and no' morning chorus is complete without 

 the distant sub-dominant of his powerful voice, harsh and protesting tho it be. 



The dusky bird is a notorions mischief-maker, but he is not quite so black 

 as he has been painted. More than any other bird he has successfully matched 

 his wits against those of man, and his frequent easy victories and consequent 



