14 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 



the month of October, in marshes and ponds, where for 

 months previously it has been unknown. This autumnal 

 appearance must arise either from the scattering of native 

 broods, or from an influx of migrant strangers from the 

 American coast. I am inclined to think the latter the 

 most likely cause. 



December 29th, 1846. — Was presented with a fine speci- 

 men of the Corvus americanus, or American crow of Wil- 

 son, shot at Spanish point by Captain Fayrer, R.N. It 

 measured twenty inches in length, and thirty-seven in 

 breadth, from tip to tip of the fourth or longest primaries. 

 Tail feathers, ten. 



A flock, consisting of from six to a dozen of these crows, 

 has for some years past frequented the western portion of 

 these islands, but more particularly the parishes of Warwick 

 and Port Royal. A gentleman who resides in that 

 neighbourhood, and has frequent opportunities of observing 

 their habits, describes them as gregarious towards evening, 

 roosting together in a grove of cedars, on a small island in 

 Riddles Bay, and dispersing over the adjacent shores and 

 islands in the daytime. They remain all the year round, 

 and do not appear to have increased their numbers for some 

 years. 



It is not uncommon to see them feeding on the fruit of 

 the ungrafted, or sour orange, and they appear to be 

 equally fond of ripe lemons. 



Crows are supposed to have been extinct in the Bermu- 

 das for many years prior to 1838, or thereabouts, when 

 Lady Paget, wife of Admiral Sir Charles Paget, is said to 

 have introduced a pair of tame ones from Haltfax, Nova 

 Scotia, which subsequently effected their escape from the 

 Admiral's residence, Clarence Cove, and multiplied in a 

 state of freedom. 



