228 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



seen chasing a female in courtship. Late in March the crows were 

 rather noisy as he passed through each prospective territory. At some 

 places courting was still going on where small groups of crows milled 

 about the trees. Males chased the females, courting them while per- 

 forming aerial gyrations of diving and wheeling. It was apparent to 

 Reimann that the birds were pairing off, were claiming their nesting 

 territory, and were about to drive their unwanted rivals from the scene. 

 Charles W. Townsend gave the subject of courtship of many birds 

 serious and careful study, and no one is better qualified than he in the 

 recording and interpretations of their performances. The following ac- 

 count is based on his observations of crows at Ipswich, Mass. His pub- 

 lished account (1923) in part is as follows: 



Courtship in birds is expressed in three ways, namely in display, dance and 

 song. * ♦ ♦ The courtship song of the Crow consists of a rattle, a quick succes- 

 sion of sharp notes which have been likened to the gritting of teeth. That this 

 is a courtship song and not merely one of the bizarre expressions of this ver- 

 satile bird, is shown conclusively by its association with courtship display and 

 dance. Like all bird songs it is commonest in the spring, but may occasionally, 

 as in the case with many bird songs, be heard at other times, especially in the 

 fall of the year, when it is explained by the "autumnal recrudescence of the 

 amatory instinct." Although the song is generally given from a perch, it may 

 also be given on the wing, constituting a flight song, although there is no other 

 difference in the character of the two songs. 



The whole courtship of the Crow varies somewhat, but the following descrip- 

 tion of this act, seen under favorable circumstances, is fairly typical. A Crow, 

 presumably the male, perched on a limb of an oak tree, walked towards another 

 and smaller Crow, presumably the female, that seemed to regard him with in- 

 difference. Facing the smaller one, the male bowed low, slightly spreading his 

 wings and tail and puffing out his body feathers- After two bows, he sang his 

 rattling song, beginning with his head up and finishing it with his head lower 

 than his feet. The whole performance was repeated several times. The song, such 

 as it was, issued forth during the lowering of tlie head. * * * 



During the love season, fights by rival Crows are common. Each bird tries 

 to rise above the other in the air, and, with noisy outcry, each attacks the rival. 

 Sometimes their struggles are so violent that the birds come to the ground, where 

 they continue their fight and sometimes roll over together in their efforts, all the 

 time voicing their wrath. 



On the other hand, one may sometimes chance upon the loving actions of 

 affianced couples. More than once I have seen one of a pair that were sitting 

 close together in a tree, caress the other with its beak and pick gently at its 

 head. The mate would put up her head to be caressed, and I have been re- 

 minded of billing doves. 



Later Townsend (1927) made further observations which he elabor- 

 ated upon as follows : 



Spending the nights in an open lean-to in my "forest," at Ipswich, I found 

 myself listening every morning to the courtship song of the Crow close at hand, 

 and, on May 3, 1926, I discovered from my bed that a pair had their nest in a 



