nSH CROW 281 



there is food to be obtained, especially in the vicinity of heron rookeries, 

 they are always to be found in large numbers. But the biggest aggrega- 

 tions are to be found in the winter crow roosts. M. N. Gist, the warden 

 at the Orange Lake rookery, estimated the winter crow population at 

 that locality as 50,000, some of which may have been Florida crows, 

 according to Mr. Howell (1932), who adds: "At Goose Creek, Wakulla 

 County, in January, 1920, we observed long lines of Fish Crows every 

 morning shortly after sunrise, flying westward along the beach from 

 the direction of St. Marks Light, Several residents of the neighbor- 

 hood told us that the birds roosted on beaten down tracts of rushes and 

 drift in the marshes along the lower course of the St. Marks River. 

 At Panasoffkee Lake, Crows are said to roost in large numbers in willow 

 bushes in the marsh at the edge of the lake. At Lake Monroe, Febru- 

 ary 18, 1897, Worthington saw a flock of about 2,000 Fish Crows going 

 to roost in rushes." 



At North Island, S. C, early in December 1876, Maynard (1896) 

 saw a great flight of fish crows that he thought were migrating. "They 

 were evidently migrating for they came down the c.oast in an almost 

 unbroken stream and continued to fly all day. I think I saw more 

 pass the island than I ever saw before. It did not seem possible that 

 there could have been so many of these Crows in existence for they 

 could be counted by tens of thousands." This may have been merely a 

 local movement, for the birds might have been seeking shelter from 

 the hard, cold northeast wind that was blowing at the time; and fish 

 crows are known to spend the winter much farther north. 



Voice. — The note of the fish crow is quite different from that of our 

 common crow, shorter, less prolonged, more nasal, stacC;ato, and not 

 so loud ; it is hoarser, as if the bird had a sore throat or a cold. I wrote 

 it in my notes as cor, or as an exact pronouncing of the word "car." 

 Mr. Wheeler (1922) writes it caa-ah, and refers to a two-syllabled 

 note, ah-uk. Bendire (1895) says: "Their call notes appear to be less 

 harsh and are uttered in a more drawling manner than those of the 

 Common Crow; they are also more variable. They consist of a clear 

 'cah' or 'cahk,' repeated at intervals of about thirty seconds, and are 

 usually uttered while the bird is perched on the extreme top of a tree. 

 They also utter a querulous 'maah, maah* or 'whaw, whaw,' varied 

 occasionally to 'aack, aack,' or 'waak, waak.' It is almost impossible 

 to reproduce such sounds accurately on paper, and no two persons 

 would render them alike." 



Field marks. — The most reliable field mark for the fish crow is its 

 voice ; and this can usually be counted upon to identify it ; there is, how- 

 ever, a chance for confusion when young c.ommon crows are first on the 



