JAYS AND MAGPIES: Family Corvidae [ 42.7 ] 



C. c. prmcipalisj but we do not have any specimens that are definitely 

 assignable to this northern race. In Allen's edition of the Lewis and 

 Clark expedition, it is stated that the raven was abundant at the mouth 

 of the Columbia on November 30, 1805 (Lewis and Clark 1814). 



This raven, like many of the desert birds, nests early. Most of the egg 

 sets are completed and incubation is under way in early April. Our 

 earliest date for a completed set is March 2.4 and our latest May 16, 

 although Bendire (Brewer 1875) who listed the first eggs taken in Oregon 

 two sets from Camp Harney took fresh eggs as late as May 19. Many 

 of the nests are built in the scattered juniper trees so common in the 

 eastern section of the State, although occasional ones are found in other 

 trees. We know of several that were built on the remains of old windmill 

 towers and on abandoned sheds (Plate 74, E). In the rimrock country 

 the usual site is a ledge on the face of the sheer cliffs, and along the coast 

 the nests are usually built on the rocky headlands. 



Although ravens have largely disappeared from the settled sections of 

 western Oregon, they are still so abundant in eastern Oregon that they 

 are one of the real factors in reducing the numbers of waterfowl pro- 

 duced on the great marshes of Harney and Lake Counties. During the 

 breeding season they work not only on the nesting colonies of herons, 

 egrets, cormorants, and other similar birds but search out and destroy 

 many dozen ducks' nests. The drought conditions in these counties in 

 recent years, by causing the nesting birds to concentrate in a much 

 restricted area, have greatly increased the toll of waterfowl taken by 

 ravens, until at the present low ebb of bird life there the ravens are an 

 important factor in preventing any increase, even under improved con- 

 ditions. 



Western Crow: 



Corvus brachyrhynchos hesperis Ridgway 



DESCRIPTION. "Black, whole plumage glossed with violet, more strongly on upper 

 parts; feathers of throat short, blended." (Bailey) Si%e: Length 18.50-19.15, wing 

 11.10-11.75, tail 6.45-7.80, bill z.oo-z.2.0. Nest: A bulky mass of sticks, plant 

 stalks, and similar material, lined with rootlets, grass, hair, and other fine material. 

 Eggs: 4 to 8, pale green or olive buff, blotched and spotted with browns and grays. 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: From central British Columbia, southern Saskatchewan and 

 Montana south to Lower California and central New Mexico. In Oregon: Common 

 permanent resident of entire State except higher mountain peaks. 



LEWIS AND CLARK (1814) found crows abundant on November 30, 1805, 

 at the mouth of the Columbia and listed them as Northwestern Crows, 

 but unless the distribution of the two species has radically changed since 

 that time, the Western Crow (Plate 75, B) was the more abundant species. 

 Suckley (Cooper and Suckley 1860) reported the crow as an abundant 

 breeder at The Dalles, still under the name caurinus. Bendire (1895 a) 



