238 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



[486a] Corvus corax principalis Ridgw. Northern American Raven. While the much 

 persecuted Crow thrives in this thickly populated County, the Raven, common no doubt at the 

 first settlement, and frequently mentioned by the writers of those times, has long since retired 

 to less frequented spots.' 



197 [488] Corvus brachyrhynchos C. L. Brehm. 

 American Crow. 



Abundant permanent resident, most numerous in winter on the coast. 

 Eggs: April 15 to June 13. 



The most interesting time of year to study the Crow on the seashore is in 

 the winter. Common as they are everywhere in summer, in winter their num- 

 bers on the coast are much increased, while inland they become compara- 

 tively uncommon. This is due to the fact that more food is to be found in 

 the vicinity of the sea than in the frost-bound country. The nature of this food 

 is easily studied by the examination of the pellets ejected from the mouths of 

 the Crows. These pellets are to be found everywhere, but especially in the 

 regions where the Crows spend the nights. 



Standing on an elevation in the neighborhood of the bogs and pine thickets 

 of the Ipswich dunes in midwinter one may see before sunset the Crows 

 streaming in from all sides, singly or in bunches of five or ten. Their flight 

 is directly towards their goal, the pines, around which they frequently circle 

 before alighting. The great majority of the Crows, however, continue on over 

 the sand dunes to the pine thickets on Cape Ann in the neighborhood of 

 Annisquam and Lanesville. Their flight in this direction begins even as early 

 as 2 p. M., in January and continues till sunset. I have been on the south side 

 of the Cape in winter and seen Crows coming from the south drop into the pines 

 for their night's rest. 



In the morning from the same station in the Ipswich dunes, one may see 

 the Crows flying out from their night roosts, starting from half an hour to an 

 hour before sunrise. They fly singly and in groups of from ten to thirty, and 

 by sunrise the roosts are generally deserted. Three streams of Crows can be 

 made out. One passes out from the dunes to the beach along which the birds 

 scatter to feed, although the greater part continue on their way up the beach 

 passing Castle Hill and spread out in the great marshes of the Ipswich and 



' J. A. Allen; Bull. Nuttall Dm. Club, vol. I, p. 53, 1876. 



