CROWS AND JAYS. 161 



Crows, Jays, etc. (Family Coevid^.) 



There are eystematists wlio thiuk that the members 

 of this family should hold the place usually assigned the 

 Thrushes, at the head of the class Aves. Leaving out of 

 the case anatonucal details whose value is disputed, we 

 might object to a family of songless birds being given first 

 rank in a grouj) whose leading character is power of 

 song. But while Crows and Jays may, from a. musical 

 standpoint, be considered songless, no one can deny their 

 great vocal povs'ers. Song, after all, does not imjjly high 

 rant in bird-life, and some of the sweetest singers (among 

 others, some Snipe, and the Tinamous and Wood Quail 

 of South America) are not members of the suborder of 

 Song Birds. 



If, however, the relative intelligence of the two fam- 

 ilies be taken into account, there can lie no doubt that 

 C'orvifhe fully deserve to be considered the most highly 

 developed of birds. How many tales are told of the 

 human actions of the Baven, Book, Jackdaw, Magpie, 

 Jay, and Crow ! 



Of the two himdred members of this family, six in- 

 habit eastern North America, bj^ far the most common 

 being the Crow. No one of our birds 

 . ' is better known, and still, how itjnorant 



Corvu^ americanux. ' ■ ^ 



we are of his ways ! I am not sure 

 that he does not know more about ours. We have not 

 even recorded his notes, for, in spite of the current ojjin- 

 ion that the Crow's calls are restricted to c<tvj, he has an 

 extended vocabulary. I am not aware that he ever 

 ascends to the height of a love song, but that he can 

 converse fluently no one who has listened to him will 

 question. Of the variants of C(Aw, each with its own 

 significance, there seems no end ; but if you would be 



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