FISH CROW 275 



kow-wow, koo-wow/ the last syllable drawled and accented or empha- 

 sized; then, with a slight spreading of the shoulders and the tail, the 

 head being down and the tail drooped, they produced by a curious 

 chattering of the bill a sound (not made in the throat, I judged) which 

 resembled that of horny plates struck together, and causing an odd 

 shuddering of the head and even of the body. This was repeated a few 

 times, varied with a noisy 'caw, caw.' " 



Fall. — Mr. Pearse writes to me that on Vancouver Island "the locally 

 bred crows commence to flock as early as the middle of August, but it 

 would be at least a month before the outside birds would arrive. Most 

 falls there is a considerable immigration to the farmlands from outside 

 areas, probably from inlets farther up the coast or from the mainland. 

 At times during winter 1,000 birds will be feeding together on the 

 cultivated areas. Banding operations show that there is a southerly 

 movement of the locally breeding crows in fall and that birds banded 

 in winter go to the mainland the following spring. Each year the crows 

 disappear from here the end of August, and very few are seen until 

 a month later." He also has seen some evidence of a northward migra- 

 tion in spring. 



COaVUS OJ»SIFBAGUS \^Ison 



FISH CROW 



Plate 46 



HABITS 



This small and well-marked species of crow is widely distributed 

 along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as well as in the lower valleys of 

 some of the larger rivers. It reaches its northeastern limit in southern 

 Massachusetts, where it is a rare and local straggler, mainly in spring. 

 I am quite sure that I have seen it on two occasions in Bristol, R. I. 

 It is a fairly common summer resident on the coast of Connecticut, 

 chiefly in the western part, and on certain parts of Long Island, N. Y. 

 From New Jersey southward it is an abundant bird and practically 

 resident. 



Its favorite haunts are the coastal marshes and beaches, the banks 

 of streams, and to some extent the shores of inland bodies of water. 

 In Florida, the numerous streams, lakes, and marshes furnish suitable 

 haunts for them over a large part of the inland country, especially 

 where they can prey upon the breeding colonies of herons and other 

 water birds. Dr. Samuel S. Dickey tells me that he has seen them 



