Todd : Birds of Erie and Presque Isle. 565 



and easily approached. In the fall of 1900, too, it was quite abund- 

 ant here also, particularly in October, associating with the Snow 

 Bunting, but no very large flocks were observed. Through the winter, 

 however, flocks of considerable size are often found on the Peninsula, 

 and even more frequently on the mainland. 



133. Cyanocitta cristata. Blue Jay. 



The Blue Jay is a permanent resident, and at times very abundant, 

 being one of the few conspicuous birds in the heavy timber of the 

 Peninsula in the early spring, also in the fall, in October. The wood- 

 land on either side of Long Pond is a favorite haunt. A nest was 

 discovered in a bushy sapling at the foot of Ridge Pond in May, 1900, 

 but was deserted before all the eggs were laid. 



1 34. Corvus corax principalis. Northern Raven. 



This is given by Mr. Sennett as a straggler, and on the questionable 

 authority of Dr. John W. Detwiller as having been seen once in win- 

 ter (Warren, Birds of Pennsylvania, 1890, 202). Wilson speaks of 

 the Raven "as entirely supplanting the Crow on the southern shores 

 of Lake Erie " (in Ohio), but this was almost one hundred years ago 

 {American Ornithology, IX, 1825, 136). 



135. Corvus brachyrhynchos. American Crow. 



Corvus americanus, Audubon, Ornithological Biography, II, 1834, 317, and of 

 most authors. 



Corvus brachyrhynchos, Brehm, Beitrage zur Vogelkunde, II, 1822, 56. — Rich- 

 mond, Proceedings Biological Society of Washington, XVI, 1903, 125. 



Common, according to Mr. Bacon, during all but the winter months, 

 and occasionally seen at that season also. It arrives very early in the 

 spring (February 22, 1894; February 28, 1893), and by the end of 

 April the nests usually contain eggs. It was numerous on March- 21, 

 1900, at the inception of our work, feeding about the shores and the 

 edge of the ice at the mouth of Mill Creek, much in the manner of the 

 Herring Gull. A large flock was observed west of the city the same 

 day. Although unquestionably breeding quite commonly on the 

 Peninsula, the only instance . that came to our notice was that of a 

 nest found May 9 at the head of Yellow Bass Pond. In the fall it was 

 most abundant in October, and was noted up to November 10. It 

 was frequently found along the outside beach, feeding on living and 

 dead animal matter cast upon the shore. Mr. Bacon contributes the 

 following interesting observation on the feeding habits of this bird : 

 " Once during the summer of 1886 I saw a Crow fly out of an evergreen 



