COKVID.E — THE CROWS. 2^}H 



Jersey, and in the reyidus Ixmleviii^' on tlie Sclmylkill and the Dehnvare, near 

 I'hiliuleliihia, (hiring- the sliad and herring li.shing, or Iruni March till .hine. 



During the breed iiig-si-ason they were oli.served to separate into jiairs, and 

 to liuild their nests in tall trees near the sea or the river shore. On(f of their 

 nests was in a tall wood at (rreat Egg Harbor, and they were presumed to 

 have tour or live young at a time. 



In the District of Columhia, Dr. (,'nues I'ound the Fish Crow to he an 

 abundant resident throughout the year, less wary and suspicious than the 

 comiuon Crow, and more! eonfmed to the borders ol" rivers. It was generally 

 coutbunded with 0. amirirnnus. 



The Fish (Jrow ajjjiears to have received, even if it does not merit, an 

 exemption fnjm the general unp(Ji)ularity of its race. It is generally believed 

 to be at least a harndess species, and in its destruction of reptiles and ver- 

 min to be oven bcnelicial. This belief, we ai)prehend, is for the most part 

 well fcmnded. Y'et Mr. Audubon accu.ses these ( 'rows of entering gardens 

 and feciding ujiou the best li'uits. He also states that, near (.'harleston, they 

 commit such dein-edations u])on the ripe figs, and become so troublesome 

 generally in the gardens, that it is often found necessary to station a man 

 near the fig-trees to shoot and destroy them. 



The Fish Crow is confined either to the maritime districts or to the banks 

 of rivers branching from them. Audubon states that they ascend the Dela- 

 ware to (|uite a tlistancc, and that some breed in Xew Jersey every year, but 

 that all retire to the South on the ai)])roacli of cold weather. Some go up 

 the Mississippi to the distance of live hundred miles, but return to the sea- 

 shore in the winter. In I'-ast Florida, where they were very abundant, Mr. 

 Audulion found them breiMling in February, in South Carolina on the 2t)th 

 of March, and in Xew Jersey a month later, (^n the St. John's lliver, dur- 

 ing February, he saw them in flocks of .several hundred, but all seemed 

 mated and to move in pairs, sailing high in tiie air in the manner of Kaveiis. 

 After these aerial excursions the whole body <lescended to the water's edge to 

 feed. When their fishing was over, they wouM alight in Hocks on the live- 

 oaks near the shore, and there keej) up their gabbling, wliile they idumed" 

 themselves, for hours. They then returned to their fishing-grounds, where they 

 remained until near sunset, moving into the interior to great distances, to r<iost 

 on the loblolly-pines. These retreats were made in silence, but their return 

 to the sea-.shore in the early morning was made with noisy and lively demnn- 

 strations. They were then to be seen among the bays, rivers, .salt juinds, and 

 marslu's, searching for small fry, and ]ii(dviug u]) any garbage; they might find. 



Mr. Aucbibon also accuses them of robbing other birds of their eggs and 

 young. This was especially ol)served on the Florida Keys, where they even 

 dared to plunder the nests of the Cormorants and White Ibi.s. They feed 

 largely on the small cralis cidled fiddlers, which they pursue and easily cap- 

 ture in their burrows. He has also seen them attack and pursue small Culls 

 and Terns, and attempt to make them disgorge the fish they have caught ; but 



