188 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



in a white pine at 85 feet above ground. He says that when the season 

 is not too backward and cold ravens may begin carrying sticks for the 

 nest during the middle of February, and he has seen nests finished as 

 early as February 25, but that most nests are not ready for eggs until 

 March. "Ravens usually take what they want rather near at hand, 

 although they may move off some miles for substances suitable for the 

 lining. I have known them to enter the forest, remain either in under- 

 growth or low branches, and shortly arise with a sizable stick in the 

 bill. After the bird had arisen to a height of several hundred feet, it 

 would begin to circle, the stick in its bill visible through a field glass. 

 Then it would toss the stic}c loose from its hold, would snap at it, 

 thrust forth the body and take it again, and even drop the stick and 

 plunge admirably downward, taking the stick from the air before it 

 struck the ground." 



Walter B. Barrows (1912) mentions a nest, found by Dr. Max M. 

 Peet on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, that was in a very unusual loca- 

 tion. He quotes Dr. Peet as follows : "While exploring the ruins of 

 the deserted town near the head of Siskowit Bay, on September 10, 

 a nest of the Northern Raven was found in the old stamp mill. It 

 was placed in the small hollow formerly occupied by the metal plate 

 upon which the head of the stamp fell. The side walls of the stamp 

 mill are broken down in places so that the entrance to the interior 

 was simple." 



Eggs. — The northern raven is said to lay two to eight eggs to a full 

 set. Four and five are the commonest numbers. The largest sets seem 

 to be found in the far north; MacFarlane (1891) says six to eight, 

 but Harlow (1922) reports that in Pennsylvania sets of three are rather 

 common and that certain pairs never lay more than three or four ; he 

 says that six is very rare and that he has only one record eac.h of 

 seven and two. Dr. Dickey records only one set of seven. The eggs 

 are indistinguishable from those of the American raven, which arc 

 more fully described hereinafter. 



Some eggs of eastern ravens are so heavily marked that the ground 

 color is nearly obscured, and others are so faintly and sparingly marked 

 that they resemble some types of eggs of the white-necked raven. Often 

 dark and light types occur in the same set, suggesting that the pigment 

 may have become nearly exhausted before the last egg was laid. The 

 measurements of 50 eggs average 50.2 by 34.3 millimeters ; the eggs 

 showing the four extremes measure 56.0 by 33.3, 50.8 by 36.1, 41.7 

 by 33.0, and 44.5 by 30.2 millimeters. 



Young. — Several observers agree that the period of incubation is 

 about three weeks and that the young remain in the nest about four 



