242 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



In the latter capacity he is certainly held by Red-winged Blackbirds and King- 

 birds, while in the former category he must place himself, when with virtuous 

 clamor he attacks a wandering Eagle, a Snowy Owl, or a sly fox. Hearing a 

 great outcry among a party of Crows one day at Ipswich, I saw several swooping 

 down to within a few feet of a fox. Reynard seemed not a whit disturbed, and 

 carried his brush straight out behind as he sauntered along. When Crows 

 pursue an Eagle they bear about the same relation to the latter bird in size that 

 the Kingbird bears to the Crow. I have heard them make a virtuous outcry 

 over a couple of innocent hares that were running through the dunes. 



Tracks show that it is a common habit for the Crows to drag their middle 

 toe in walking and sometimes all three front toes are dragged. Again, tracks 

 of the same or other Crows show that the toes are lifted up without any 

 dragging. I have seen Crows hop, and have found evidence of that in the 

 sand. In landing from the air, their tracks show it is often their habit, to 

 bound or hop forward once with feet together, before beginning to walk. I 

 have seen the marks in fresh snow showing that a Crow had slipped in walking, 

 and spread out its right wing to save itself. 



It is probable that all birds may act the Flycatcher at times although this 

 seems out of place in the Crow. On one occasion, however, I saw a Crow 

 launch himself from a tree, hover in the air, and return to his perch in true 

 flycatcher style. I once saw a Crow at Magnolia splash on the surface of the 

 ocean like a Kingfisher. Whether he succeeded in catching a fish or not I do 

 not know. Crows often walk in the water on the edge of the beaches, picking 

 up food, but always take good care to get out of the way when the waves roll 

 in, — they are not quite web-footed. 



In the autumn of 1901, a creamy white Crow was reported at Topsfield. 

 He was of course at once marked for destruction by the local gunners. There 

 is a partially albino Crow in the collection of the Peabody Academy. 



Near the shore at Ipswich, Crows are hard put to it to find good-sized trees 

 for their nests. I have frequently found the nests in apple trees, and nests in 

 quite small trees in the bogs of the dunes are common. One I measured was 

 only nine feet from the ground in a small pitch pine. 



Crows begin to gather in flocks very early in the year. Thus I have 

 counted 35 in a flock on May i ith, 40 in a flock on May 30th, and on July 

 loth, on the barren pastures of Great Neck, Ipswich, about 150. 



The winter of 1903-4 will long be remembered as one of severe cold and 

 frequent snow storms. The marshes and creeks were completely covered with 

 thick ice, with scarcely a crack through which the water or the marsh could be 

 seen. Many of the bayberry bushes were entirely covered with snow and 

 cranberries were not to be thought of. Under these circumstances the struggle 



