92 THE AMERICAN CROW. 



branch of the black xualnut tree, loaded with nuts, on the lower twig of 

 which I have represented the delicate nest of our Common Humming-bird. 



In conclusion, I would again address our farmers, and tell them that if 

 they persist in killing Crows, the best season for doing so is when their corn 

 begins to ripen. 



Crow, Corvus Corone, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. iv. p. 79. 



Corvus Corone, Bonap. Syn., p. 56. 



Corvus Corone, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 291. 



Crow, Corvus Corone, Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 209. 



American Crow, Corvus Americanus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. ii. p. 317; vol. v. p. 477. 



Feathers of the head and neck oval and blended; fourth quill longest; 

 general colour black, with purplish-blue reflections; the hind parts of the 

 neck tinged with purplish-brown; the lower parts less glossy. Young of a 

 rather dull brownish-black, with the blue and purple reflections much less 

 brilliant. 



Male, 18, 38. 



Generally distributed from the Gulf of Mexico to Columbia river; through- 

 out the interior, and along the coast, northward to lat. 55°. Congregates in 

 immense numbers in the Southern and Western States during winter. 



A specimen preserved in spirits measures in length to end of tail 18|- 

 inches, to end of wings 17, to end of claws 16^, extent of wings 35; wing 

 from flexure 12i; tail ^; bill along the ridge 2; tarsus 2\. 



The palate is concave, with two ridges; the upper mandible internally 

 with five ridges, the lower deeply concave, with a median prominent line. 

 The tongue is 1 inch 2 twelfths long, semicircularly emarginate at the base 

 and papillate, one of the papillas on each side very large; it is horny toward 

 the end, narrow, thin edged, and with the point slit, the fissure being 1^ 

 twelfths in depth. The width of the mouth is 1 inch 1 twelfth; the oeso- 

 phagus, a b c d, is 7 inches long, averages 7^ twelfths in width, is funnel- 

 shaped at the commencement, passes along the right side of the neck until it 

 enters the thorax, and has its walls of moderate thickness, with external 

 transverse fibres. The proventricular glands are very small, and form a belt 

 1\ twelfths in breadth. The stomach, d e f, is 1^ inches long, 1 inch 5 

 twelfths broad, of a roundish form, considerably compressed; its lateral 

 muscles large, being about a quarter of an inch thick; its tendons, e, also 

 large and radiating, their transverse diameter \ inch; the cuticular lining 

 thick, dense, of a dark reddish-brown colour, with broad longitudinal rugae. 

 The intestine, y,§- h I, forms a curve at the distance of 2| inches, bends for- 

 wards toward the right lobe of the liver, then forms four circular convolu- 

 tions, and terminates in the rectum. Its length is 29 inches, its width 4^ 



