The Western Crow 



The Crow in California is no such constant factor of bird life as he 

 is in the East. He is, instead, very local and sharply restricted in his 

 distribution, so that to a traveller the appearance of Crows is rather 

 a novelty, something to be jotted down in the field-book; and Crow 

 country can scarcely comprise more than a twentieth part of the total 

 area of the State. Confined for the most part to river bottoms or to rich 



Taken in Santa Barbara County 



Photo by the Author 



A FLIGHT OF WESTERN CROWS 



alluvial valleys, separated by wide stretches of crowless country, the 

 behavior of these birds is so strongly influenced by local conditions, that 

 generalizations as to nesting habits, absence of fear, etc., are futile. 

 In some sections the birds mock at you from the wayside fence-posts. 

 Elsewhere it may be difficult to obtain specimens. In one valley the 

 Crows will nest in sycamores, in another in live oak trees, in another in 

 the depths of the fir forest. 



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