THE OOLOGIST. 



241 



Cyprus tree, 10 feet from the ground. 

 Four badly incubated eggs. No. 2. Apr. 

 11. Nest in a cypress tree, on the end 

 of a horizontal limb, 8 feet from the 

 ground. 4 fresh eggs. No. 3. Apr. 16. 

 Nest in the brushy end of a large limb of 

 a live oak tree, 15 feet up. This nest is 

 composed almost entirely of cob-webs. 

 4 fresh eggs. No. 4. Apr. 20. Nest 

 placed in a small pine tree, on the side 

 of a road, 6 feet up. 4 fresh eggs. 



The average nest measures in diame- 

 ter, 2| x li inches, and in depth 2 x 1J 

 inches. 



Wm. L. Atkinson, 

 Santa Clara, Cal. 



The Language of Crows, and Other Notes. 



Did you ever think of what jolly, 

 good natured fellows Crows are? 



If not, just think of it a bit. In the 

 first place, they are fond of company 

 and are willing to practice self denial 

 for the benefit of their companions, as 

 is seen in the sentinel who sits on the 

 top rail of the fence and keeps guard, 

 while his companions feast on blue 

 : grass, bulbs, worms and stray grains of 

 corn in the pastures or meadow. 



Then the Crows are good talkers, (in 

 Crow language of course) and apparen- 

 tly many a joke passes among them as 

 they skim over the fields in flocks of 

 twenty to a hundred or two, in -wet and 

 windy weather. The vocabulary of the 

 •Crow is probably as complete as that of 

 any American bird, of the Eastern states 

 at least. The common fowl has per- 

 haps a more complete vocabulai'y, but 

 since it is an exotic and is domesticated 

 as well, it does not come under this 

 class. The language of the Crow can 

 be learned with but little difficulty; and 

 to an ornithologist it is often conven- 

 ient, in order to tell what is going*on in 

 a neighboring woods. 



The different notes of the Crow are 

 rather hard to put into words, as for 

 several notes, quite different to the ear, 



the same spelling is required. Below 

 is given the vocabulary of theJCrow, as 

 correct as the author can make it, as he 

 has found it. 



1. Krak, krak, krak, krak. [Sound 

 a as in all.] Short call note, used while 

 flying to and from roost. 



2. Kree-ak, Kree-ak. [Sound a as in 

 last.] Loud notes uttered upon the 

 discovery of "a man with a gun," in 

 woods. Uttered while flying about over 

 the woods, and used as a warning. 



3. Hawk, hawk, crow-hawk, hawk, 

 etc. Notes uttered upon the discovery 

 of an Owl, and during said Owl's per- 

 secution. 



4. Hawk hawk hawk hawk. ^§ Notes 

 uttered usually in four's, with great 

 rapidity, by Crows calling for reinforce- 

 ments to torment an Owl, uttered 

 while flying through or around a woods. 



5. Hawk, hawk, hawk. The same 

 sound as No. 4, but uttered more leis- 

 urely. Ordinary call-note; not short as 

 No. 1 and uttered during short flights, 

 ordinary Crow business, and during the 

 large spring "camp meetings," held in 

 open fields. This uttered more rapidly 

 but not so fast as No. 4, is the alarm 

 note given by a sentinel to a feeding 

 flock, to indicate that the time for flight 

 has come. 



6. Ha-a-awk, ha-a-awk. [Sound a as 

 in all.] The call-note of Crows in flocks 

 in windy, wet weather; simply number 

 five prolonged, not harsh as in number 

 seven. 



7. Kra-a-a-ak, [a as in last] and kra- 

 a-a-uk [a as add, u as but]. A harsh, 

 rattling croak, uttered while div- 

 ing at an Owl, and frequently heard 

 from Crows otherwise silent, during 

 the breeding season, and occasionally 

 at other times. 



8. Crow haiuk, crow hawk. The note 

 uttered by solitary Crows during the 

 autumn months. The first syllable of 

 the word is uttered in a very high pitch 

 for a Crow, the second much lower, 

 thus differing from No. 3, which is the 



