VOL. LXII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS 333 



miles inland; and feeds on small birds. It corresponds with om-s in everj 

 respect. 



II. Picae, pies. Fiaun. Am. Sept- 



4. Corvus, crow. 10. Canadensis. 158, l6. Cinereous crow. Faun. Am. 

 Sept. 9. Severn river, N°9 and 10. 



These birds are called whiskijohn and whiskijack at the Hudson's Bay. They 

 weigli 2 ounces ; and are 9 inches long, and 1 1 broad. Their eyes are black, 

 and their feet of the same colour. Their characters correspond with the Linnaean 

 description. They breed early in spring; their nests are made of sticks and 

 grass, and built in pine trees; they have 2, rarely 3, young ones at a time; 

 their eggs are blue; they fly in pairs; the male and female are perfectly alike; 

 they feed on black moss, worms, and even flesh. When near habitations or 

 tents, they are apt to pilfer every thing they can come at, even salt meat; they 

 are bold, and come into the tents to eat victuals out of the dishes. They watch 

 persons baiting the traps for martins, and devour the bait as soon as they turn 

 their backs. These birds lay up stores for the winter, and are seldom seen in 

 January, unless near habitations; they are a kind of mock bird; when caught, 

 they pine away and die, though their appetite never fails them. 



Corvus, 11. Pica. 157.13. Magpie. Bnt. Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 9. Al- 

 bany Fort, N° 5. 



It is called oue-ta-kee aske, i. e. heart-bird, by the Indians, It is a bird of 

 passage, and rarely seen ; it agrees in all respects with the European magpie, on 

 comparison. 



5. Picus, woodpecker. 12. Auratus. 174. 9. Gold wing woodpecker. Faun. 

 Am. Sept. 10. Catesby, i. 18. Albany Fort, N" 4. the large woodpecker, .f 



The natives of America call this bird ou-thee-quan-nor-now, from the yellow 

 colour of the shafts of the quill and underside of the tail feathers. It is a bird of 

 passage; visits the neighbourhood of Albany fort in April, leaves it in Septem- 

 ber; lays from 4 to 6 eggs in hollow trees; feeds on small worms and other in- 

 sects. Its descriptions answer exactly. 



Picus, 13. Villosus, 175. 1 6. Hairy woodpecker. Faun. Am. Sept. 10. 

 Catesby i. 19. Severn river, N" 56, 



The specimen sent over is a female, by its wanting the red on the head. The 

 descriptions of Linnaeus and Brisson agree ; only the two middlemost feathers are 

 black, the next are of the same colour, but have a white rhomboidal spot near 

 the tip; the next are black, with the upper half obliquely white, the very tip 

 being black ; the next after that are white, with a round black spot on the inner 

 side close to the base, and the lower part of the shaft is black, the outermost 

 feathers are quite white, the shaft only at the base being black. 



