226 VERTEBRATES : BIRDS. 



The Common Crow, C. americanus, Aud., of North 

 America, is about twenty inches long, and the wing about 

 thirteen inches. Its stately gait when moving upon the 

 ground, its manner of flight, its shyness and cunning, and 

 its propensity to scratch up and pull up the corn of the 

 farmer, are all well known ; but the great benefit which 

 the crow confers upon the farmer, by destroying an almost 

 infinite number of grubs .destructive to the crops, is not 

 so well understood. 



The Fish Crow, C. ossifragus, Wils., of the South At- 

 lantic coast, is fifteen and a half inches long, and the 

 wing ten and a half inches. This species feeds upon 

 small fishes, which it secures with its claws as it passes 

 over the water. 



The Western Fish Crow, C. caurinus, Baird, of North- 

 western North America, is sixteen and a half inches long, 

 and the wing eleven inches. 



The Rook, C. frugilegus, Linn., of Europe, is nineteen 

 inches long, black, and glossed with purple. It usually 

 builds near human dwellings, and sometimes in large 

 ' cities. 



The Genus Picicorvus is represented by Clark's Crow, 

 P. colnmbianus, Bonap., of Western North America, 

 which is twelve inches long, and the wing seven inches ; 

 the general color bluish ash, the secondaries and tertials 

 broadly tipped with white, and the tail mainly white. 



The Genus Gymnokitta has the nostrils naked, and the 

 tail short and even. 



Maximilian's Jay, G. cyanocephala, Pr. Max., of Western 

 North America, is ten inches long, and the wing five and 

 nine tenths inches ; the general color dull blue. 



The Genus Pica has the bill much curved, tail very 

 long and graduated. 



The Magpie, P. hudsonica, Bonap., of North America, 

 is nineteen inches long, the wing eight and a half inches, 



