CORVID.E — THE CROWS. 247 



mosses, and sometimes with hair. The parent birds are very watchful and 

 vigilant if their nest is in danger, and often expose their lives in their anx- 

 iety for their young. The male bird is attentive to his mate during incuba- 

 tion, and assists in feeding the young. The young are fed chiefly on insects, 

 froG'S, mice, and similar food. 



The eggs of the Crow vary from 1.60 to 1.55 inches in length, and from 

 1.20 to 1.10 in breadth. In their markings they exhibit surprising varia- 

 tions. They usually have a ground of a light sea-green, over which are 

 scattered, more or less thickly, blotches, some of them quite large, of a dark- 

 brown, almost black, with purplish reflections. These are chiefly about the 

 larger end. Another quite common variety is of a deeper ground of green, 

 very uniformly and thickly sprinkled with fine dottings of a sepia-brown. 

 Others have a ground nearly white, slightly tinged with green, more spar- 

 ingly spotted with small blotches of light purplish-brown. A nest found 

 near Springfield contained eggs having the ground-color on one side a 

 pinkish-gray, the rest being greenish-white, all spotted with brown. 

 Another set of eggs from Hudson, Mass., were of a light bluish-green, 

 entirely unspotted, resembling large Eobin's eggs ; and Dr. Wood mentions 

 another four, the ground of which was flesh-color, and the sj^ots red. 



Corvus americanus, var. floridanus, Baird. 



FLORIDA CROW. 



Corvus atnericanus, var. floridanus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 568, pi. Ixvii, t'. ]. C. amcrica- 

 mcs, Allen, B. E. Fla. 297. 



Sp. Char. About the size of C. americanus, but bill and feet larger. Tail less rounded. 

 Third, fourth, and fiftli quills nearly equal; third rather longer than fifth. Color less 

 violet above. Length, 19.50; vring, 12.00; tail, 7.70; tarsus, 2.60. 



Hab. Southern peninsula of Florida. 



This resident Crow of Florida differs in some marked features from that 

 of the more northern localities in several characters. Although perhaps 

 rather smaller, the bill and feet, especially the latter, are very considerably 

 larger. The nasal feathers extend over the basal two fifths of the bill, 

 instead of the half. The proportions of the bill are about the same ; in 

 the Florida bird it is rather the longer. The greatest difference is in the 

 feet. The tarsal joint of the tibia is bare, the feathers scarcely coming 

 below it, even anteriorly, instead of projecting some distance. The tarsus 

 is almost a quarter of an inch longer, covered anteriorly by nine scutelhe, 

 instead of eight. The outer lateral toe is shorter, not reaching the base 

 of the middle claw. The middle toe and claw are considerably shorter than 

 the tarsus ; the middle claw is shorter than in the northern bird. 



The wing-formula diflers somewhat ; the tliird, fourth, and fifth quills are 

 nearly equal, the tliird even longer than the fifth, instead of shorter. The 



