8 a THE WESTERN CROW. 
does unquestionably breed here. A nest was reported to us on a cliff in the 
Crab Creek Coulee. While we were unable to visit it in season, we did come 
upon a family group some weeks later, comprising the two adults and five 
grown young. This is possibly the northernmost breeding station of the 
Mexican Raven yet reported. 
WESTERN CROW. 
A, O. U. No. 488b. Corvus brachyrhynchos hesperis (Ridgw.). 
Synonyms.—CaLIFoRNIA Crow. Common Crow. AMERICAN Crow. 
Description.—Entire plumage glossy black, for the most part with greenish 
blue, steel-blue, and purplish reflections; feathers of the neck normal, rounded. 
Bill and feet black; iris brown. Length 16.00-20.00; wing 12.00 (302); tail 
6.70 (170) ; bill 1.83 (46.5) ; depth at nostril .65 (16.5). Female averages smaller 
than male. 
Recognition Marks.—Distinguishable from Northwest Crow by larger size 
and clearer voice. 
Nesting.—WNest: a neat hemisphere of sticks and twigs carefully lined with 
bark, roots and trash, and placed 10-60 feet high in trees,—willow, aspen, pine, 
or fir. Eggs: 4-6, usually 5, same coloring as Raven’s. Occasionally fine snark- 
ings produce a uniform olive-green, or even olive-brown effect. Av. size 1.66 
X 1.1€ (42.2 x 29.5). Season: April 15-May 15; one brood. 
General Range.—Western United States from Rocky Mts. to Pacific Coast, 
save shores of northwestern Washington, north in the interior of British 
Columbia, south to Arizona. 
Range in Washington.—Of general distribution along streams and in settled 
portions of State, save along shores of Puget Sound, the Straits, and the Pacific 
north of Gray’s Harbor. Not found in the mountains nor the deeper forests, 
and only locally on the sage-brush plains. 
Migrations.—Resident but gregarious and localized in winter. The winter 
“roosts” break up late in February. 
Authorities.—Corvus americanus Aud., Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Sury. IX. 
1858, 566 (part). Brewster, B. N. O. C. VII. 227. T. C&S. D*. Kb. Ra. D2. 
Ss SES INS Ia 1Bh 12 
Specimens.—BN ( ?). 
WHILE the Raven holds a secure place in mythology and literature, it 
is the Crow, rather, which is the object of common notice. No landscape is too 
poor to boast this jetty adornment; and no morning chorus is complete without 
the distant sub-dominant of his powerful voice, harsh and protesting tho it be. 
The dusky bird is a notorious mischief-maker, but he is not quite so black 
as he has been painted. More than any other bird he has successfully matched 
his wits against those of man, and his frequent easy victories and consequent 
