THE FISH CROW. 299 



predatory propensities of the carrion Crow on hens' eggs, young chickens, and even turkey 

 poults, I would have shot them had they been a pair of carrion Crows ; but I was anxious to 

 watch the result of what appeared to me at the time a remarkable union. 



"Judging from the manners of tlie two birds, the almost evident incubations and careful- 

 ness exhibited, I should say that the Hooded Crow is the female, though the carrion Crow did 

 frequently sit upon the eggs. After the young of the first year took wing, I perceived that the 

 one was a carrion and the other a Hooded Crow, and this distinctive character was maintained 

 in the young which were hatched every year, so long as I remained in that pai-t of the country. 

 I shot the first young pair, and ascertained that the hooded one was the female, and the carrion 

 was the male, which confirmed me in my conjecture of the sexes of the parents. Ever after, 

 old and young were unmolested by me ; but notwithstanding the increase of number every 

 year after the first one, only one pair came annually to build in these beech -trees." 



This species has often been tamed, and displays much affection for its owner. One of these 

 birds, whicli had been wounded and captured, was placed in a walled garden together with 

 the poultry, with whom it soon made friends. In process of time it recovered from its wound, 

 took flight and disappeared. But after an absence of some months it returned to its old quar- 

 ters, and voluntarily took its place again with the poultry in the well-remembered spot, and 

 was quite as familiar with the owner of the house as any of the hens. 



The Hooded Crow is boldly and conspicuously pied with gray and black, distributed as 

 follows : The head, back of the neck, and throat, together with the wings and tail, are glossy 

 bluish-black, while the remainder of the body is a very peculiar gray, with a slight blackish 

 wash. The length of the bird is about nineteen or twenty inches. It goes by many names 

 in different parts of the country, among which Dun Crow, Hoody, and Hoddy are the most 

 common. 



The Philippine Crow derives its name from the locality in which it is found, its place 

 of residence being the Philippine Islands. 



It is a striking and handsome bird on account of the elegant crest which decorates its 

 head, and the general hue of its plumage. It is not a large bird, measuring only eleven inches 

 in total length. The color of the upper parts of the body is pale green, dashed with yellow 

 here and there, according to the direction of the light, and a similar tint, but with more 

 yellow, under the throat. A black band runs round the head, enveloping the eye in its 

 progress, and is partially covered by the loose, flowing feathers of the crest. The dense wing- 

 coverts are bi'own, the quill-feathers are deep olive-green on their exteiior sides, and the 

 secondaries are tipped with white with a slight dash of green. The bill and legs are of a 

 reddish hue. 



The Fish Ceow of America is about the size of the common jackdaw, its length being 

 generally about sixteen inches. Our chief information of this bird and its habits is derived 

 from Wilson ; and as his account cannot be condensed without great loss of its original vigor 

 and fi'eslmess, it is here given at length : — 



"I first met with this species on the sea-coast of Georgia, and observed that they regu- 

 larly retired to the interior as evening approached, and came dowTi to the shores of the river 

 Savannah by the first appearance of day. Their voice first attracted my notice, being very 

 different from that of tlie common Crow, more hoarse and guttural, uttered as if something- 

 stuck in their throat, and varied into several undulations as they flew along. Their manner of 

 flying was also unlike the others, as tlijey frequently sailed about without flapping their wings, 

 something in the manner of the raven ; and I soon perceived that their food and their mode of 

 procuring it were also different, their favorite haunts being about the banks of the river, along 

 which they usually sailed, dexterously snatching up with their claws dead fish or other garbage 

 that floated on the surface. At the country seat of Stephen Elliot, Esq., near the Ogechee 

 river, I took notice of these Crows frequently perching on the backs of the cattle, like the 

 magpie and jackdaw of Britain, but never mingling with the common Crows, and differing 



