204 The Wilderness Hunter 



States to the Pacific, the pioneers of that great army 

 of adventurers who since then have roamed and 

 hunted over the Great Plains and among the Rocky 

 Mountains. 



These birds are nearly of a size, being about as 

 large as a flicker. The Clark's crow, an ash-col- 

 ored bird with black wings and white tail and fore- 

 head, is as common as it is characteristic, and is sure 

 to attract attention. It is as knowing as the rest of 

 its race, and very noisy and active. It flies some- 

 times in a straight line, with regular wing-beats, 

 sometimes in a succession of loops like a wood- 

 pecker, and often lights on rough bark or a dead 

 stump in an attitude like the latter; and it is very 

 fond of scrambling and clinging, often head down- 

 ward, among the outermost cones on the top of a 

 pine, chattering loudly all the while. One of the 

 noticeable features of its flight is the hollow, beat- 

 ing sound of the wings. It is restless and fond of 

 company, going by preference in small parties. 

 These little parties often indulge in regular plays, 

 assembling in some tall tree-top and sailing round 

 and round it, in noisy pursuit of one another, light- 

 ing continually among the branches. 



The Lewis' woodpecker, a handsome, dark-green 

 bird, with white breast and red belly, is much rarer, 

 quite as shy, and generally less noisy and conspicu- 

 ous. Its flight is usually strong and steady, like a 

 jay's, and it perches upright among the twigs, or 



