C R 0 W. 
127 
The Crow is eiglitcen inches and a half long, and three feet two inches 
in extent ; the general color is a shinii;g glossy hlue black, vrith purplish 
reflections ; the throat and lower parts are less glossy ; the bill and legs 
a shining black, the former two inches and a quarter long, very strong, 
and covered at the base with thick tufts of recumbent feathers ; the 
wings, when shut, reach within an inch and a quarter of the tip of the 
tail, which is rounded ; fourth primary the longest ; secondaries scal- 
lopped at the ends, and minutely pointed, by the prolongation of the 
shaft ; iris dark hazel. 
The above description agrees so nearly with the European species as 
to satisfy me that they are the same ; though the voice of ours is said to 
be less harsh, not unlike the barking of a small spaniel ; the pointedness 
of the ends of the tail feathers, mentioned by European naturalists, and 
occasioned by the extension of the shafts, is rarely observed in the pre- 
sent species, though always very observable in the secondaries. 
The female differs from the male in being more dull colored, and rather 
deficient in the glossy and purplish tints and reflections. The difl'erence, 
however, is not great. 
Besides grain, insects, and carrion, they feed on frogs, tadpoles, small 
fish, lizards, and shell-fish; Avith the latter they frequently mount to a 
great height, dropping them on the rocks below, and descending after 
them to pick up the contents. The same habit is observable in the Gull, 
the Raven, and Sea-side Crow. Many other aquatic insects, as well as 
marine plants, furnish them with food ; which accounts for their being 
so generally found, and so numerous, on the sea-shore, and along the 
banks of our large rivers. 
