1883.] 379 [Brewster. 



not seem to me as characteristic as it has been described. True, 

 he sails more than does the Crow, and there is something peculiar 

 in his wing strokes, but the difference is not always appreciable 

 unless there is an opportunity for direct comparison. 



36. Corvus americanus, Aud. — American Crow. 

 Nothing connected with the ornithology of the Gulf surprised 



me more than the habits of the Crows which we found there. 

 They were abundant, and in many places as tame and familiar 

 as street Pigeons. They fed largely on fish, crustaceans, and 

 other animal matter cast up by the sea, and about the fishing 

 stations congregated in large numbers to devour the offal that 

 escaped the equally hungry dogs. Among the Magdalens we 

 frequently saw them sitting on the roofs of the fishermen's huts, 

 or stalking sedately among the boats drawn up on the beaches, 

 often within a few yards of men at work. Even in the woods they 

 would usually permit an approach to within ten or twelve yards, 

 and at times seemed wholly devoid of fear. Mr. Henshaw was 

 collecting insects one day on Grand Entry Island, when a pair, 

 which probably had a nest in the vicinity, followed him for nearly 

 an hour, poising directly overhead and frequently coming so near 

 that he was tempted to strike at them with his net handle. The 

 cause of this fearlessness is evident. The inhabitants cultivate 

 no crops excepting a few potatoes, and the Crows being harmless, 

 are tolerated, if not positively encouraged, as scavengers. The 

 cunning birds are not slow to recognize the situation, and finding 

 that they have nothing to fear from man quickly establish a re- 

 lation which is more or less advantageous to both parties, but 

 chiefly so, of course, to the Crows. 



At Anticosti, as well as among the Magdalens, we were assured 

 that all the Crows migrate southward on the approach of winter. 

 Some of these migrants are doubtless the birds whose peculiar 

 habits, as observed at Mace's Bay, were commented on by Mr. 

 Chamberlain in his " Catalogue of the Birds of New Brunswick." * 

 I cannot find, however, that either a specimen which he sent me, 

 or those collected by our party, differ in respect to technical 

 characters from the typical Corvus americanus. 



37. Cyanocitta cristata, Linn. — Blue Jay. 



1 Bulletin of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick, No. l,pp. 42, 43. 



