CORVTD.E — THE CROWS. 247 



mosses, fine! soTiietiinos witli liair. The piireiit ]»ir(ls are vcr>' watchful ami 

 vij^ihiul if tlit'ii" nest is in fluii^MT, ami (jlti'ii l'Xjm)sc tht*ir lives in their anx- 

 iety for their youn;^. Tlie male hird is attentive to his mate duriiij^' imuha- 

 tion, iiml assists in feeilin^' the young. The young are fed ehietly ou inserts, 

 frogs, mice, ami similar food. 



TJH! eggs of the Crow vary from IM to Loo inches in length, and from 

 1.20 to 1. 10 in hreadth. In their markings they exhibit surprising varia- 

 tions. They usually have a ground of a light sea-green, over which are 

 scattered, more or less thickly, itlotches, scune of them ijuite large, of a dark- 

 Itrown, almost hlack, with purplish retlections. These are chielly ahout the 

 larger end. Another ipiite common variety is of a deeper gnumd of yret^n, 

 very uniforndy and thickly s])rinklcd with tine d(»ttings of a sejaa-brown. 

 Others have a ground nearly white, sli^litly tinged with green, nu)re sj»ar- 

 ingly spotted with small Idotches of light purplish-brown. A nest found 

 near Springfield contained eggs having the ground-color on one side a 

 pinkish-gray, the rest lieing ;;reenish-white, all spotted with brown. 

 Another set of eggs from Hudson, Mass,, were of a light bluish-green, 

 entirely unsj)otted, resembling large Itobin's egus; and Dr. Wood mentions 

 another ft)ur, the ground of which was Hesh-color, and the spots red. 



Corvus americanus, var. floridanus, Baird. 



FLOBIOA CBOW. 



Cornts americaniut, var. floridaniis, Baiud, Birds N. Am. 5G8, pi. Ixvii, f. 1. C. amcriai' 

 nus, Allen, R E. Fla. 297. 



Sp. CnAR. Ahout the size of C. americanns, hut bill and feet larpor. Tail less rounded. 

 Third, fourth, and littli quills nearly ?qual; third rather lonji^er than fifth. Color less 

 violet above. Len<rth, 10.50; win.L', 12.00; tail, 7.70; tarsus, 2.60. 



Had. Southern peninsula of Florida. 



This resident Crow of Florida differs in some marked features from that 

 of tlie more northern localities in several characters. Although i)erhaj»s 

 rather smaller, the bill and feet, especially the latter, are very considenibly 

 larger. The nasal feathers extend over the basal t\\ fifths of the l)ill, 

 instead of the half. The i)roportions of the bill are about the same ; in 

 the Florida bird it is rather tlie Ioniser. The greatest difference is in the 

 feet. The tarsal joint of the tibia is bare, the feathers scarcely coming 

 below it, even anteriorly, instead of projecting some distance. The tarsus 

 is almost a quarter of an inch longer, covered anteriorly by nine scutellie, 

 instead of eight. The outer lateral toe is shorter, not reaching the base 

 of the middle claw. The middle toe and claw are considembly shorter than 

 the tarsus ; the middle claw^ is shorter than in the northern bird. 



The wing-formula differs somewhat ; the third, fourth, and fifth quills are 

 nearly equal, the third even longer than the fifth, instead of shorter. The 



