12 THE NORTHWEST CROW. 



are sacrificed daily in a vain effiH't to satisfy the Gargantuan appetites of these 

 \-(jung- ehons. I once had the misfortune tn pitch camp in a grove of willows 

 wliich contained a nestfnl nf Cruws. The okl birds never forgave me, but 

 upbraided me in bitter language frnm early morn till dewy eve. The youngsters 

 also suffered scjmewliat. 1 fear, fen' as often as a parent bird approached, 

 cawing in a curicjiisly muffled voice, choked with food, and detected me outside 

 the tent, it swallowed its burden withorit compunction, in order that it miglit 

 the more forcibly lierate me. 



If the male ha|)pened to discover my out-of-doorness in the absence of his 

 mate, he would rush at her when she hove in sight, in an officious, blustering 

 way, and shout, "Look out there! Keep away! The Rhino is on the rampage 

 again !" 



I learned, also, tO' recognize the appearance of hawks in the offing. At the 

 first sign the Crow, ]>resumably the male, begins to roll out objurgatory guttur- 

 als as he hurries forward to meet the intruder. His utterances, freely trans- 

 lated, run somewhat as follows: "That blank, blank Swainsoii Hawk! I 

 thought I told him tO' keep away from here. Arrah, there, you slab-sided son 

 of an owl ! What are ye doing here? Git out o' this! (Biff! Biff!) Git, 

 I tell ve ! (Biff!) If ever I set eyes on ve again, I'll feed \e to the covotes. 

 Git, now!" And all this without the slightest probability that the poor hawk 

 would molest the hideous young pickaninnies if he did discover them. For 

 when was a self-respecting hawk so lost to decency as to be willing tO' "eat 

 crow" ? 



No. 4. 



NORTHWEST CROW. 



A, O. U. No. 489. Corvus brachyrhynchos caurinus (Baird). 



Synonyms. — Fisii Crow. W'kstekk Fish Crovv. Northwest Fish Crow. 

 PuGET Sound Crow. Tidewater Crow. 



Description. — Similar to C. /'. hcspcris, but decidedly smaller, with shorter 

 tarsus and relatively smaller feet. Length 15.00-17.00; wing 11.00 (280); tail 

 6.00 ( 158) ; bill 1.80 (46) ; tarsus 1.95 (50). 



Recognition Marks. — An undersized Crow. Voice hoarse and flat as com- 

 pareil with that of the Western Crow. Haunts beaches and sea-girt rocks. 



Nesting. — A' est: a compact mass of twigs and bark-strips with occasionally a 

 foundation of mud; lined carefully with fine bark-strips and hair; 4.00 deep and 

 7.00 across inside; placed 10-20 feet high in orchard or evergreen trees, sometimes 

 in loose colony fashion. Eggs: 4 or 5, indistinguishable in color from those of the 



