1908] BIBDS. 2 



Nest Made of grass on the ground. 



Food About 80 per cent of the food is vegetable matter consist- 

 ing of grains, weed seeds, and fruits. The remaining 20 per cent 

 consists of animal food mostly insects. 



477. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata,}. One specimen of this 

 beautiful bird is quite enough to exhibit his rich blue plumage. 

 Male and female colored alike. 



Geog. Dist. Eastern North America to the Plains, and from the- 

 Fur Countries south to Florida and eastern Texas. 



W. Va. Dist. Rare along Ohio Valley. In some places quite 

 common, though the abundance or rarity of this species in any given 

 place varies greatly from year to year. More common in the 

 rougher parts of the state. 



Nest Nest made of rootlets in a tree crotch fifteen to twenty 

 feet up. Breeds in this state. 



Food Of miscellaneous nature consisting of fruits, nuts, seeds 

 and insects. In June (1908) I found this species feeding on great 



quantities of the bright red fruit of the Mountain Elder, 

 i 



488. American Crow (Cwvus brachyrhynchos) . One specimen of 

 this well-known bird. 



Geog. Dist. North America, from the Fur Countries to the- 

 southern border of the United States. 



W. Va. Dist. Common. Along the Ohio River this species some 

 times gathers in large flocks to spend the winter months. 



Nest A coarse affair made of sticks in a tree about thirty feet 

 from the ground. 



Food Omnivorous in its feeding habits. It is believed that the 

 food of this bird is such that, on the whole, it must be placed on 

 the list of beneficial birds. For elaborate notes on the food of the 

 American Crow see bulletin No. 6, Dept. Agr., Div. Ornithology 

 and Mammalogy, "The Common Crow of the United States," by- 

 Barrows and Schwarz, 1895. 



494. Bobolink (Doliclwnyx oryzivorus). A pair of these pretty 

 birds appears in the collection. 



Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, west to Montana. 



W. Va. Dist. For many years I looked for Bobolinks in central 

 West Virginia, but failed to find them. Finally in the early 90 's, 

 I saw five birds of this species on the grounds of the West Virginia 



