was courageously attacked and driven away. Since the Kingbird's arrival not only 

 the chickens were safe, but also all the songbirds of the garden. 



While residing in a small cabin in the woods near the West Yegua, Lee Co., Texas, 

 quite a colony nested in the high oaks and pecans in the rich bottom woods. The 

 nests were placed fifty to sixty feet above the ground, and most of them were inaccessible. 

 They were constructed of twigs and bunches of Spanish moss. In Texas I never saw 

 such large flocks as farther north. 



In Wisconsin the Crow is a common bird in all favorable localities. Late in fall 

 they move in large swarms southward, being observed in immense numbers on' the 

 Mississippi throughout the cold season. In the forest behind my house at Freistatt, 

 Mo., thousands spent the nights from late in November to late in February. Very early 

 in the .morning they left their roosts and flew in scattered flocks in all directions. At 

 this time they are very watchful. Before they left the forest in the morning or returned 

 to it in the evening, their leaders or scouts, usually two old and exceedingly sagacious 

 birds, investigated the territory. They flew to and fro several times, and when every- 

 thing was found to be in good order, they uttered peculiar sounds and the rest followed 

 immediately. — Without doubt the Crow devours countless numbers of noxious insects, 

 but on the other hand the depredations which it commits, especially in the corn-fields, 

 and its nest-robbing propensities, do not entitle this bird to our protection. 



The Florida Crow, Corvus americanus fforidanus Baird, inhabits the peninsula of 

 Florida. It has a larger bill and shorter wings and tail than the type. 

 NAMES: Common Crow, American Crow. — Krahe (German). 



SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Corvus corone Wils. (1811). CORVUS AMERICANUS Audubon (1834). 

 BESCRIPTION: Glossy black, with violet reflections. 



Length, 19.00 to 20.00 inches; wing, 13.25; tail, 8.00 inches. 



FISH CROW. 

 Corvus ossifragus Wilson. 



This bird ranges from southern Connecticut to Louisiana, being confined either to 

 the maritime districts or to the banks of rivers branching from them. Being smaller 

 and quicker in its motions than the Common Crow, this species is even more injurious. 

 It plunders countless numbers of birds' nests and commits great depredations upon the 

 fruit in the gardens, especially upon figs and grapes. Their favorite haunts are the banks 

 of. the rivers. They soar up and down over the water, and in a very dexterous manner 

 "snatch up with their claws dead fish, or other garbage found floating on the surface.*' 

 I have -seen them in large numbers in early November soaring over the St. Johns, in 

 northern Florida, and quite a number of them were feasting on the carcass of a large 

 dead ,rattle-snake. I saw them even in the large trees in Riverside Park, near the city 

 of Jacksonville. They usually build their nests in the tops of lofty pines. They are 

 smaller than those of the Common Crow, being constructed of twigs and plant-stems<, 

 lined. , with grasses and Spanish moss. The light blue or greenish eggs are blotched 

 with light brown, ' ■ 



DESCRIPTION: The color of the bird is a deep glossy black.— Length, 15.50 inches; wing, 10.50 ;'tkil, 7.00. 



