68 THE BIRDS OF 



a southerly direction, not as high as they 

 often fly, and flying very slowly. It 

 took about three-quarters of an hour for 

 them to pass. 



Crows gather in enormous roosts, and 

 once while passing through Virginia in 

 a train, I saw a roost of about a thou- 

 sand. It was at twilight and they were 

 settling for the night in the bushes. 



Sometimes one may confuse a Crow 

 with a Grackle, but they are quite dif- 

 ferent, and differ in the following ways: 

 The length of the Crow is nearly twenty 

 inches, whereas that of the Grackle is 

 only twelve. The Crow has a short tail 

 compared with its body, while that of 

 the Grackle is long. The general ap- 

 pearance of the former is chunky and 

 fat, but the latter is slim. 



Blue Jay 

 The Blue Jay (Frontispiece) is a per- 

 manent resident, and a saucy, imperti- 



