CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 



257 



in htt/ing iorij;, pointed, instead of the usual short, rounded ffutliero o-i tho 

 tit rout. 



/iV<//y«'.— NortlK-rn North Anierica from (Jrecnlund to Alnsl<a, south on 

 tlie I'ucitic coast to Britisli Columbia, and on the Atlantic coast to North 

 Carolina; of local distribution in the eastern United States. 



j\'est, compact and symmetrical, of sticks lined with grasses, wool, etc., add- 

 ed from year to year, in trees or on cliffs. " AV^*, two to seven, pale bluish 

 green, pule olive, or olive spotted or dashed (or both) with olive-l)rown (some- 

 times nearly uniform olive from density of markings), 2*02 x 1-38 " (Kidgw.). 



" The usual note of the Raven is a hoarse, rolling cr-r-r-cruck, but 

 he has other cries. . . . 



" Despite tlieir difference in size and Imbits, I must confess that I 

 often had dilTiculty in distinguishing Ravens from Crows. Every one 

 must have noticed how the apparent size of a Crow will vary under 

 different conditions of the atmosphere; it is t!io same with the Raven. 

 At times he looks as big as an Eagle ; at others scarcely larger tlian a 

 Fish Crow. But when actually in company with Crows he can not 

 be possibly mistaken, for he then appears, jis he is, nearly douole the 

 size of any of them. His flight did not seem to me as characteristic 

 as it has been described. True, he .sails more than docs the Crow, and 

 there is something peculiar in his wing strokes, but the difference is 

 not always appreciable unless there is an opportunity for direct com- 

 parison" (Brewster, Birds Observed on Gulf of St. Lawrence. Proc. 

 Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xxii, 1883, p. 378). 



488. Ck>rvus americanus Aud. American Crow. (Sec Fig. 44, b.) 



Ad.— Knt'irc plumage black, with steel-blue or deep purplish reflections; the 

 under parts duller than the upper parts; feathers on the neck normal, short, 

 and rounded. L., 19-30; W., 1218; T., 7-f)2; B., 2-00. 



Range. — " North America from the fur countries to Mexico " ; winters from 

 the northern Unite<l States southward. 



Washington, abundant P. R. Sing Sing, common P. R. Cambridge, 

 abundant P. R. 



Nest., bulky, of sticks lined with strips of grapevine bark, gnusscs, moss, 

 etc., in trees, generally about thirty feet up. ZiV/f/"' f"""" *■« six, generally blu- 

 ish green, thickly marked with shades of brown, but sometimes light blue or 

 e'ven white with almost no markings, 1-65 x 1'19. 



Throughout his wide range the size, color, voice, habits, and abun- 

 dance of the Crow combine to make him the most conspicuous and 

 consequently the best known of our birds. But in spite of his great 

 circle of acquaintances he has tew friends. An unfortunate fondness 

 for corn has placed him under the ban of the ag'-iculturist ; there is a 

 price on his head ; every man's hand is against him. 



Apparently he does not mind this in the least; in fact, ho seems 

 to rejoice in being an outlaw. As for fear, I doubt if he knows what 

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