258 



CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 



it means; he hna far too much confidence in his undonbred ability to 

 escape his human |)ersecutors. He laughs at their attempts to entrap 

 him; his insolent assurance is admirable. For several centuries man 

 has been his sworn enemy, nevertheless ho appears to have held his 

 own, accepting and adjusting himself to every new condition. 



Afraid of no one. he migrates boldly by day, and in March and 

 October we may see him with his comrades high in the air, returning 

 to or leaving their summer homes. In winter the Crows arc exceed- 

 ingly abundant along our seocoasts, where they congregate to feed on 

 mollusks, fish, and other sea food. 



At this season they roost in colonies. It has been estimated that 

 some roosts contain upward of three hundred thousand birds.* Early 

 in the morning, with regularly executed manoeuvres, they start on the 

 day's foraging, flying low, on the lookout for food. Late in the after- 

 noon they return at a much greater height — "as the Crow flies " — and, 

 alighting at some point near the roost, wait the coming of tho lost 

 stragglers. Then, at a given signal, they all rise and retire for the 

 night. 



No one who has listened to Crows will doubt that they have a lan- 

 guage. But who can translate it ? 



488a* C. Sm floridanus Ralrd. Florida Crow. — Similar to the pro- 

 cedinfjf, but wings and tail somcwlmt sliorter, and bill and feet Hlij^htly larger. 

 L., 20-00; W., ll-50-r2-30; T., 7-00-7-70; B., 2-ob-2-20; depth of B. at base, 

 •75--85; Tar., 2-40-2-50 (Ridgw.). 



Range. — Florida ; confined largely to the pine-woods. 



490* €!orvilS OSSifiraefUS Wih. Yxm Crow. .'If/.— Entire plumage 

 black, witli steel-hhie or deep purplish reflections, generally more greenisli on 

 the under parts. L., IG-QO ; W., 11-00 ; T., fi-40 ; B., 1-50. 



Jiemarks. — The Fish Crow may bo distinguished from the common Crow 

 (1) by its much smaller size. (2) By the uniform and somewliat richer color 

 of the back. In americaiiu8 the feathers of the back have dull tip.s; when 

 the frcshly-plumaged bird is held between the observer and the light these 

 tips give the back a ringed or slightly scaled appearance. In osdfragus these 

 tips are wanting, and the back is uniforndy colored. (3) By the brighter color 

 of the under parts. In umerieanna the under parts are generally much duller 

 than tlie upper parts; in osxifrngun they are nearly as bright. 



Range. — Gulf and Athmtic coast, as far north as southern Connecticut; 

 resident except at the extreme northern part of its range. 



Washington, rather common P, R. Cambridge, A. V., one record, Mch. 



Nest., of sticks, lined with strips of grapevine bark, moss, gra-sses, etc., 

 generally in pines or cedars, twenty to fifty feet up. Eggs^ four to six, simi- 

 lar in color to those of C. americanus, 1-52 x 10(5. 



* Rhoads, Crow Boosts and Roosting Crows, Am. Nat., 1886, pp. 691-700, 777-787. 



