538 Colorado College Publication 



for it outnumbers all the other Corvi in certain localities. It 

 had previously been considered a bird of the southeast, and 

 was supposed to be confined mainly to the Staked Plains of 

 Texas, but I now know it to be common along the eastern 

 base of the Rocky Mountains, throughout the entire extent of 

 Colorado, and it even winters as far north as Cheyenne. It 

 has also been found at Tucson, Ariz., by Capt. Bendire, who 

 includes it among the resident birds of that locality, so that it 

 has quite an extended range. I first saw them in October, 

 1871, about twenty-five miles south of Cheyenne, on the line 

 of the Denver Pacific Railroad, where a large flock was hover- 

 ing over the plain. In the city of Denver I have often found 

 them searching for food in the less frequented streets, and 

 about one hundred miles farther south, on the Fontaine Qui 

 Bouille, I have seen immense numbers. At the latter place, a 

 Mock of probably one thousand individuals was resident dur- 

 ing the winter of 1871-2. Although so abundant in winter, 

 very few are to be seen in summer ; the greater number either 

 pass to the northward or become so distributed over the coun- 

 try as not to attract attention. Being seldom disturbed, these 

 birds have little of the shyness which the common crow of the 

 East exhibits, though it is not always easy to get within gun- 

 shot of them. I have on one occasion ridden along within 

 twenty feet of a fence on which sat thirteen of these 'imps of 

 darkness,' only one of which flew away, the others contenting 

 themselves by keeping a watchful eye on my demeanor, and 

 an instant's halt on my part, or a suspicious motion, would 

 have started them off instantly. C. cryptoleucus is mainly a 

 bird of the plains, being replaced in the mountains by the 

 common raven. The ^;wo birds resemble each other so closely 

 in notes and habits that it is difficult to distinguish between 

 them at a distance ; the greatest apparent discrepancy being 

 in size, though the croak of carnivorus (i. e. sinuatus) is 

 somewhat deeper and louder than that of the other. I have 

 sometimes found them both associated in the same flock. Each 

 succeeding year since I first saw these birds I have noticed 



