Q2 General Notes. [January 



attempted by the aid of weeds, a stone, oi- a large piece of bark. One nest 

 was built on the ground, within a semicircular cavity of a standing tree. 

 The nests were composed mostly of pine needles. One had a lining of 

 soap-root fibre, and another was built of pine needles upon a slight foun- 

 dation of small sticks. Three nests, taken by Mr. Belding at Big Trees, 

 Cal., June 8 and 9, 1879, and June 10, 1880, contained each four nearly 

 fresh eggs. A set of four, taken at Big Trees, June 15, 1S83, from 

 the side of a stump, fifteen inches from the ground, are now before me. 

 They correspond closely to Dr. Coues's description of the eggs of this 

 species given in the last number of the 'Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornitho- 

 logical Club' (VIII, p. 239). The measurements, which lean take from 

 two. are .89 X .70, and .93 X .70. — W. E. Bryant, Oakland, Cal. 



Prehensile Feet of the Crow {Corviis frugivorus). — Apropos of what 

 has lately been published regarding the power of the Crow to carry ob- 

 jects in its claws I will give my latest note on the subject. 



I was attracted to a bunch of trees by a commotion among a troop of 

 Robins, and discovered some six individuals fiercely attacking a Crow, a 

 second black form being detected skulking some little distance away. 

 Presently Crow number one flew oft', followed by the entire mob of excited 

 Red-breasts, when Crow number two made a dash into the trees, and 

 emerged with an unfledged Robin grasped in his dexter claws ; the 

 youngster kicking and piping lustily. The cries brought back the guar- 

 dians, who at once gave chase to the captor, and while they were oft' in one 

 direction, Crow number one charged the nest from an opposite point, and 

 retired with another of the brood firmly held in his claws. ^Montague 

 Chamberlain, St. John, N. B. 



Do Crows carry objects in their Claws? — There is a habit assigned to 

 Crows in Eastern Maine, which, if well authenticated, has an interest in 

 the discussion of the question whether they can transport objects in their 

 claws. 



Near Eastport, Maine, there is known to me a considerable deposit of 

 the broken tests and half-decomposed soft parts of our common New 

 England sea-urchin (5. drcebackiensis), far removed above the level of 

 high water. This deposit is formed in the main of fragments of the solid 

 tests of these echinoderms, which are said to have been carried there alive 

 by Crows, which frequent the locality in great numbers. At a loss to 

 account for the appearance of these fragments in this unusual locality, I 

 made inquiries of sevei-al persons living in the neighborhood, all of whom 

 declared that the sea-urchin remains were brought by the Crows from the 

 shallow water not far oft'. One intelligent person, not a naturalist, said 

 he had observed the Crows transporting them in their clatvs. Although 

 I can add nothing to this testimony from personal observation, I am 

 familiar with several other accumulations of these marine animals in 

 localities above high tide, from which I have observed Crows to fly up 

 when startled. I cannot tell whether the Crows at such times were feed- 



