1877.] 123 [Bendire. 



near a spring. They breed in colonies, in close proximity to each 

 other. The eggs are usually five, but occasionally seven, in a nest. 

 The variation amongst them is very great, from a uniform coffee 

 brown color to a light greenish gray, with spots and lines resembling 

 the eggs of the Quiscalidae. Scarcely any two sets are alike, and 

 wherever a number of these birds are found breeding an endless 

 variety of eggs can be selected. 



71. Corvus corax var. carnivorus (Bartram). American- 

 Raven. 



A common resident, and more or less gregarious during the winter. 

 I have often seen as many as thirty .at one time, searching the manure 

 piles, or near the slaughter house, for food. Rarely molested they 

 become very bold, and come to the kitchen doors to steal the food 

 thrown to the chickens. In summer they are scattered, and seldom 

 come about the houses. They appear to live principally on crickets 

 and, on the edges of swamps, feed on snails and small animals. 

 They appear to be paired throughout the year, and are generally seen 

 in twos, seldom singly, even in midwinter. They nest early in 

 April; the number of eggs is from five to seven. Every pair has its 

 own district. I have found no nests nearer together than the distance 

 of a mile. These are almost invariably placed on cliffs protected 

 above generally by an overhanging piece of rock, and are difficult to 

 approach. A single nest was placed on a tree on an island in Syl- 

 vies River, and not easily reached. The largest egg out of thirty- 

 three specimens now in my collection, measures 2.38 X 1-48 inches, 

 the smallest 1.60 X 1*22. They occasionally reoccupy a nest the fol- 

 lowing season which has been robbed. As a general thing, they are 

 very suspicious, and will leave a nest that may be completely finished 

 if it has been visited. Some of their nests are very bulky, and 

 always well lined with a thick quilting of cattle hair, and are usually 

 alive with fleas. In the winter, just after a fresh fall of snow, I have 

 often seen pairs gamboling in the snow, going through the same 

 performances as they would if taking a bath in the creek. 



72. Corvus caurinus (Baird). Northwestern Fish Crow. 



A rare summer resident, arriving early in March, breeding spar- 

 ingly, and never in close proximity, as they do in Idaho. There, 

 almost every birch tree of any size on certain creeks had one of their 

 nests, and it was easy to take a hundred of their eggs in a very short 

 time. This species is said to build a domed nest, like the Magpie,' 

 but of many hundred, I have seen none constructed in this manner; 



