416 LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Maryland southward, and occasional specimens winter somewhat farther north. 

 In the lower Hudson Valley and along the shores of Long Island, New York, 

 it is not uncommon in summer, but in southeastern Massachusetts it can only be 

 considered a straggler. A few probably breed in suitable localities in southeast- 

 ern Connecticut, and it only commences to be fanly common from southern New 

 Jersey southward. In the vicinity of Washington, District of Columbia, it is 

 found at all seasons of the year. Where both species are abundant, specimens 

 are sometimes found which appear to be hybrids, and it is not unlikely that they 

 interbreed occasionally. As a rule, the Fish Crow is rarely found at any great 

 distance inland above tide water, and then usually only along the shores of the 

 larger streams. 



Its general habits are similar to those of the Common Crow, and it is often 

 seen in company with them, especially in winter. They, however, appear to be 

 less sociable, and on the whole are also less suspicious and more curious. Their 

 food is also similar, though the proportions of vegetable and animal matter seem, 

 in some localities at least, to be more equally divided than appears to be the 

 case with the Common Crow. It is generally supposed that the Fish Crow lives 

 more on animal food than its larger relative, which is probably the case in some 

 places, but this does not appear to hold good in the vicinity of Washington, 

 District of Columbia, or in some other localities. Mr. W. E. D. Scott states 

 that on the Gulf coast of Florida they congregate in large flocks in the fall of 

 the year, and that the berries of the palmetto constitute one of their favorite 

 foods. 



In the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina, according to Audubon, they 

 feed to a considerable extent on fruits, and he accuses them especially of com- 

 mitting great depredations upon the ripe figs ; he also states that they feed on 

 various sorts of berries, particularly those of the common holly (Ilex cassina), 

 and those of the tallow tree (Stillingia sebifera).^ 



Some stomachs sent to the United States Department of Agriculture from 

 St. Lucie and Lake Worth, Florida, contained remnants of figs and dewbemes, 

 as well as various seeds, while some from the vicinity of Washington, District of 

 Columbia, contained seeds and berries of the cat briar (Smilax), mistletoe, wild 

 rice, hackberry, locust, mulberry, etc. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher tells me that on the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina 

 he has seen numbers of them sitting on piles of old wharves, from which they 

 would fly over the water, pick up something, and return to the piles again to eat 

 it at their leisure. On the seashore they probably subsist mainly on small fish, 

 crabs, and other crustaceans, and such off"al as is washed ashore. Like their 

 larger relatives, they are also accused of destroying the young and eggs of 

 smaller birds, and, according to Audubon, in Florida they even plunder the 

 nests of the Cormorants and White Ibis. In the Smithsonian grounds, Wash- 

 ington, District of Columbia, they have been noticed repeatedly carrying off 

 and eating the young of the English Sparrows, and Dr. Fisher saw one chasing 



' History of North American Birds, Vol. II, p. 254. 



