American Crow 101 



attributing to him a certain nomadic temperament. In a 

 word, the Crows that breed hereabouts are supposed to have 

 spent the Winter in more southern quarters, while those that 

 are seen about here during the Winter may probably go a 

 little farther north to establish their families. TTie female 

 Crow is an admirable mother. No one of our feathered folk 

 is more solicitous of the home and the eggs and fledghngs than 

 the despised Crow; in fact, many a human mother might learn 

 a lesson from the raucous bird of black plimiage. In this 

 connection I might mention that the Crow is one of nature's 

 successes. The species is common everywhere in North 

 America from the fur countries to Mexico. Closely allied 

 species are found all over Europe, and it might be cited that 

 Pierre Loti in his book L'Inde, Sans les Anglais, demon- 

 strates that the Crow fairly overruns the whole of India. 

 Our bird is equally common in Albany County. Mr. 

 William G. Van Zandt, a local painter of horses, never 

 regards his picture as complete unless three Crows are 

 visible in the landscape. As further evidence, I have found 

 four or five Crow's nests in an acre of woods within two 

 miles of this city. On the wooded heights of Rensselaer 

 County they are equally prolific breeders. Although the 

 cursory observer sees a Crow's nest as only an awkward bundle 

 of sticks, yet it is finely constructed, the interior being lined 

 with delicate grapevine bark and other soft vegetable fiber. 

 The eggs are lovely examples of coloration, the blue of the 

 sky, the green of early vegetation, and the soft browns of 

 Autumn foliage being marvelously intermingled in the shell 

 markings. 



