CLARKE'S NUTCRACKER. 127 



first very large, the inner a little shorter than the outer, which is adherent 

 at the base. Claws large, arched, much compressed, acute. Plumage soft 

 and blended; no distinct bristles at the base of the upper mandible, wings 

 long, much rounded, the first quill very short, the fourth longest; tail of 

 moderate length, rounded. 



CLARKE'S NUTCRACKER. 



•f NuCIFRAGA COLUMBIANA, Wlls. 



PLATE CCXXXV.— Male and Female. 



No sooner had I examined perfect specimens of this somewhat singularly 

 coloured bird, than I felt assured, more especially from the form of its bill, 

 that it is with us a representative of the Nutcracker of Europe; and I was 

 much surprised, on comparing it with the figure given of it by Alexander 

 Wilson, to find the latter very defective, the bill being nearly half an inch 

 shorter than in four specimens which I have inspected. All that is known 

 of its habits is contained in the following notes from Mr. Nuttall and 

 Mr. Townsend. 



"We first observed this species in a small pine grove, on the borders of 

 Bear river, in the table-land of the Rocky Mountains, where they were pro- 

 bably breeding, in the month of July. We again saw a considerable flock 

 of the young birds early in August, in a lofty ravine near the summit of one 

 of the three belts or isolated mountains, about thirty or forty miles west of 

 the Shoshonee river. They appeared somewhat shy, and scattered through 

 a grove of aspens, flying with a slight chatter, scarcely a caw, from the tops 

 of the bushes or trees, on to the ground, probably in quest of insect food. 

 We never saw this species either on the lower plains or forests of the 

 Columbia, or in any part of Upper California. It appears never to descend 

 below the mountain plains." T. N. 



"Clarke's Crow, Corvus columbianus. First found on Bear river, and 

 afterwards on the Blue Mountains, plentiful. Its flight is very unlike that 

 of the Common Crow, being performed by jerks, like that of the Wood- 

 pecker. When sitting, it is almost constantly screaming; its voice is very 



