266 NOTES ON THE 



ceased before we could resume our march. We remained in 

 camp two days. A pair of these birds, probably with young 

 in the neighborhood, visited our camp and even penetrated 

 into our tent for crumbs and pieces of bread. They always 

 flew off with their mouths full and soon returned for more. 

 Their visits soon got to be anything but a joke, particularly 

 when they flew off with the last piece of our soap." Audubon 

 says: — "It begins as early as February or March to form its 

 nest which is placed in the thickest part of a fir tree, near the 

 trunk, and at a height of from five to ten feet. The exterior 

 is composed of dry twigs with moss and grass and the inter- 

 ior, which is flat, is formed of fibrous roots. The eggs, which 

 are four to six, are of a light gray color faintly marked with 

 brown. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Tail graduated; lateral feathers about one inch shortest. 

 Wings a little shorter than the tail. Head, neck and forepart 

 of breast, white. A plumbeous nuchal patch, becoming darker 

 behind, from the middle of the crown to the back, from which 

 it is separated by an interrupted, whitish collar. Rest of 

 upper parts ashy- plumbeous; the outer primaries margined; 

 the secondaries, tertials, and tail feathers obscurely tipped, 

 with white beneath smoky -gray; crissum, whitish; bill and 

 feet, black. 



Length, 10.70; wing, 5.75; tail, 6.00; tarsus, 1.40. 



Habitat, northern New England, Michigan, Minnesota, and 

 Canada, northward to Arctic America. 



CORTUS CORAX SINUATUS (Wagler). (486.) 



AMERICAN RAVEN. 



This bird is a permanent resident about Lake Superior, and 

 is common along the Red river and some of the more infre- 

 quented lakes in the northern portions of the state in summer 

 time, arriving quite early in March, and remaining very late in 

 the autumn. It is more frequently seen singly, yet occasionally 

 a pair will attract the attention floating on extended wings for 

 hours over some desolate section in search of food which is 

 preferably carrion, but there is nothing, either dead or alive, 

 they will not eat when pressed by hunger. Their flight is 

 rapid and long sustained. On the ground they have a very 

 dignified walk, with a characteristic of frequently opening the 

 wings as if it wearied them to retain them closed. It breeds 

 in the localities mentioned, quite early in the season. The 

 earliest I have any authentic record of is March 25th. The 



