Baird - 



1 64 Bird Studies. 



and trees in the streets of towns, as well as the woodland, feeding on berries 

 of various kinds. i 



The Florida Crow is closely allied to the Common Crow of the more 

 northern States. It is almost identical in general appearance, but is rather 



longer, with tail and wings proportionately smaller. 

 us The nesting habits and eggs are practically the same 

 as those of the more widely distributed bird. This bird 

 is found in the pine woods of Florida, and does not like its ally affect open 

 fields and cultivated grounds. 



The Raven is represented in the bird fauna of Eastern North America by 

 a geographical race known as the Northern Raven. It is an ally of the Old 



XT ,. D World bird as indicated by its scientific name. In general 



Northern Raven. ...... ^ ~ 



corvus corax prindpaiis color it is like the Common Crow, black with a deep steel 



Ridgw - blue sheen to the plumage. The feathers on the throat 



and sides of the neck are what would be called "hackles" in the barnyard 

 fowl. That is they are long and narrow and pointed at the end. Further 

 they have the appearance of being separate from one another. These char- 

 acteristic feathers and the size of the bird, rather more than twenty-two 

 inches long, will serve to identify it. 



The Raven nests in tall trees, or on some shelf on the face of a cliff, 

 building much after the manner of a crow, and repairing the same nest year 

 after year, if undisturbed. The eggs vary in number, from two to seven. 

 They also vary in ground color, from bluish green to light olive. They are 

 marked much as are the Crow's eggs with spots and splashes of olive and 

 darker brown. They are nearly two inches long and about an inch and a 

 third broad. 



In Eastern North America the Raven is found more commonly north of 

 the United States. In the Eastern United States its distribution is local 

 from Northern Michigan and Maine, southward to Virginia and North Caro- 

 lina, in the mountains. 



The birds also occur in New Jersey, where the vast cedar swamps near 

 the coast are still frequented by a limited number. I have seen and obtained 

 specimens in this region, as well as in Asheville, North Carolina, where they 

 resorted to the vicinity of slaughter houses, outside of the town. Here I 



