266 NOTES ON THE 
ceased before we could resume our march. We remained in 
camp two days. <A pair of these birds, probably with young 
in the neighborhood, visited our camp and even penetrated 
into our tent for crumbs and pieces of bread. They always 
flew off with their mouths full and soon returned for more. 
Their visits soon got to be anything but a joke, particularly 
when they flew off with the last piece of our soap.” Audubon 
says:—‘‘It begins as early as February or March to form its 
nest which is placed in the thickest part of a fir-tree, near the 
trunk, and at a height of from five to ten feet. The exterior 
is composed of dry twigs with moss and grass and the inter- 
ior, which is flat, is formed of fibrous roots. The eggs, which 
are four to six, are of a light gray color faintly marked with 
brown. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
Tail graduated; lateral feathers about one inch shortest. 
Wings a little shorter than the tail. Head, neck and forepart 
of breast, white. A plumbeous nuchal patch, becoming darker 
behind, from the middle of the crown to the back, from which 
it is separated by an interrupted, whitish collar. Rest of 
upper parts ashy-plumbeous; the outer primaries margined; 
the secondaries, tertials, and tail feathers obscurely tipped, 
with white beneath smoky-gray; crissum, whitish; bill and 
feet, black. 
Length, 10.70; wing, 5.75; tail, 6.00; tarsus, 1.40. 
Habitat, northern New Englaud, Michigan, Minnesota, and 
Canada, northward to Arctic America. 
CORVUS CORAX SINUATUS (WAGLER). (486.) 
AMERICAN RAVEN. 
This bird is a permanent resident about Lake Superior, and 
is common along the Red river and some of the more infre- 
quented lakes in the northern portions of the state in summer 
time, arriving quite early in March, and remaining very late in 
the autumn. It is more frequently seen singly, yet occasionally 
a pair will attract the attention floating on extended wings for 
hours over some desolate section in search of food which is 
preferably carrion, but there is nothing, either dead or alive, 
they will not eat when pressed by hunger. Their flight is 
rapid and long sustained. On the ground they have a very 
dignified walk, with a characteristic of frequently opening the 
wings as if it wearied them to retain them closed. It breeds 
in the localities mentioned, quite early in the season. The 
earliest I have any authentic record of is March 25th. The 
