776 The Sparrow-like Birds 



apparently friendly terms with both young and old; other observers, however, 

 have recorded their propensity for young chickens and eggs. Their principal 

 food consists of carrion, dead fish, and frogs, varied with insects of various kinds, 

 worms, snails, small mammals, and the refuse from kitchen and slaughterhouse. 

 For a nesting site they almost always select a shelf on a cliff, placing the bulky 

 nest under an overhanging ledge. They become much attached to a site and 

 return to it year after year, although eggs and young may be taken for successive 

 seasons. They lay from five to seven large pea-green or greenish olive eggs, 

 which are usually profusely spotted and blotched with shades of brown, lavender, 

 and drab. Both sexes take part in incubation, which lasts about three weeks, 

 only one brood being reared in a season. 



White-necked Raven. Similar in appearance though decidedly smaller is 

 the White-necked Raven (C. cryptoleucus), which is distinguished at once by 

 having the feathers of the neck and breast pure white for at least the basal half. 

 Inhabiting the Great Plains of the southwestern United States and central 

 Mexico, it is a resident bird wherever found, occurring in the open plains and 

 foot-hills, where it is often seen in fair-sized flocks, especially in winter. It is 

 not so shy as its larger relative, oftener coming around slaughterhouses and 

 camping parties to feed upon the refuse thrown out, but for the most part it 

 finds its living in desolate and seemingly barren regions. It places the nest 

 usually in a scrubby mesquite tree, oak, or tree yucca, only a few feet from the 

 ground, making the foundation of sticks and thorny branches and lining it with 

 hair, bark, wool, grass, etc. Nesting operations are begun late notwithstand- 

 ing the warm climate, the three to eight eggs being deposited in May or June. 



Rook. With the Rook (C. frugilegus] we must close our account of this, 

 genus, this being a common and familiar species throughout the whole of 

 Europe and especially in the British Islands. Although formerly regarded as 

 highly injurious and still looked upon by the farmer and gamekeeper with a 

 measure of disfavor, it has long been more or less protected and has now "come 

 to regard the trees that are near a human habitation as the safest to build on." 

 It is essentially a gregarious species and is seen in large or small flocks in pas- 

 tures and fields, where it often follows the plow to pick up worms and insects, 

 but it also feeds on dead fish, acorns, nuts, fruit, grain, 'and carrion. It nests 

 in colonies, often of large size, placing the large bulky nests in high trees, which 

 offer an uninterrupted view in all directions. Fearless of man during the breed- 

 ing season, as soon as this is over and the young able to follow their parents, it 

 usually leaves the rookery and joining in vast companies resorts to safer places 

 to roost at night. 



Nutcrackers ; Clarke's Crow. Perhaps most closely related to the last is a 

 small genus of four species known as Nutcrackers (Nucifraga), which differ in 

 their generally smaller size, nearly cylindrical bill, and gray or brown and white 

 usually conspicuously spotted or streaked body plumage. They inhabit the great 

 boreal coniferous forests, three of the species being natives of the Palaearctic 

 region, and the other of the western portions of North America, the latter, or 

 American Nutcracker (N. columbiana) , being more commonly known as the 



