FISH CROW. 
119 
banks of the river, along which they usually sailed, dexte- 
rously snatching up, with their claws, dead fish, or other 
garbage, that floated on the surface. At the country seat of 
Stephen Elliot, Esq., near the Ogechee river, I took notice 
of these Crows frequently perching on the backs of the cattle, 
like the Magpie and Jackdaw of Britain ; but never mingling 
with the common Crows, and differing from them in this 
particular, that the latter generally retire to the shore, the 
reeds, and marshes, to roost, while the Fish Crow always, a 
little before sunset, seeks the interior high woods to repose in. 
On my journey through the Mississippi territory last 
year, I resided for some time at the seat of my hospi- 
table friend Dr Samuel Brown, a few miles from Fort 
Adams, on the Mississippi. In my various excursions there, 
among the lofty fragrance-breathing magnolia woods and 
magnificent scenery that adorn the luxuriant face of nature 
in those southern regions, this species of Crow frequently 
made its appearance, distinguished by the same voice and 
habits it had in Georgia. There is, in many of the ponds 
there, a singular kind of lizard, that swims about, with its 
head above the surface, making a loud sound, not unlike the 
harsh jarring of a door. These the Crow now before us 
would' frequently seize with his claws, as he flew along the 
surface, and retire to the summit of a dead tree to enjoy his 
repast. Here I also observed him a pretty constant attendant 
at the pens where the cows were usually milked, and much 
less shy, less suspicious, and more solitary than the common 
Crow. In the county of Cape May, New Jersey, I again 
met with these Crows, particularly along Egg Harbour river ; 
and latterly on the Schuylkill and Delaware, near Phil- 
adelphia, during the season of shad and herring fishing, viz. 
from the middle of March till the beginning of June. A 
small party of these Crows, during this period, regularly 
passed Mr Bartram’s gardens to the high woods to roost, 
every evening a little before sunset, and as regularly 
returned, at or before sunrise every morning, directing their 
course towards the river. The fishermen along these rivers 
