354 
CROWS AND JAYS 
too much confidence in his undoubted ability to escape his human 
persecutors. He laughs at their attempts to entrap him; his insolent 
assurance is admirable. For several centuries man has been his sworn 
enemy, nevertheless he appears to have held his own, accepting and 
adjusting himself to every new condition. 
Afraid of no one, he migrates boldly by day, and in March and 
October we may see him with his comrades high in the air, returning 
to or leaving their summer homes. In winter the Crows are exceedingly 
abundant along our seacoasts, where they congregate to feed onmollusks, 
fish, and other sea food. At this season they roost in colonies. It has 
been estimated that some roosts contain upward of three hundred 
thousand birds. Early in the morning, with regularly executed maneu- 
vers, they start on the day’s foraging, flying low, on the lookout for 
food. Late in the afternoon they return at a much greater height — 
“as the Crow flies” — and, alighting at some point near the roost, wait 
the coming of the last stragglers. Then, at a given signal, they all rise 
and retire for the night. No one one who has listened to Crows will 
doubt that they have a language. But who can translate it? 
1886. Rhoads, S. N., Am. Nat., 691-700; 777-786 (roosts).— 1895. 
Barrows and Schwarz, Bull. 6, Biol. Surv. 1-98 (food). — 1895. Burns, 
F. L., Wilson Bull. No. 5, 1-41 (monograph). — 1897. Butler, A. W., 
Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 175-178 (roosts). 
488a. C. b. pascuus Coues. Florida Crow. Similar to the preced- 
ing, but wings and tail somewhat shorter, and bill and feet slightly larger, 
L., 20-00; W., 11-50-12-30 T., 7-00-7*70; B., 2*00-2-20; depth of B. at 
base, *75-’85; Tar., 2*40-2*50 (Ridgw.). 
Range . — Peninsula of Florida. 
Nesting date , San Mateo, Fla., Mch. 3. 
490. Corvus ossifragus Wils. Fish Crow. Ads. — Entire plumage 
black, with steel-blue or deep purplish reflections, generally more greenish 
on the underparts. L., 16*00; W., 11*00; T., 6*40; B., 1*50. 
Remarks. — The Fish Crow may be distinguished from the common Crow 
(1) by its much smaller size. (2) By the uniform and somewhat richer color 
of the back. In brachyrhynchos the feathers of the back have dull tips; when 
the freshly-plumaged. bird is held between the observer and the light these 
tips give the back a ringed or slightly scaled appearance. In ossifragus these 
tips are wanting, and the back is uniformly colored. (3) By the brighter 
color of the underparts. In brachyrhynchos the underparts are generally 
much duller than the upperparts; in ossifragus they are nearly as bright. 
Range. — Carolinian and Austroriparian faunas of Atlantic and Gulf 
coasts from lower Hudson River valley and Conn, to La. and Fla.; casual 
in Mass. ; migratory only at extreme n. limit of range. 
Washington, rather common P. R. Cambridge, A. V., one record, Mch. 
Nest, of sticks, lined with strips of grapevine bark, moss, grasses, etc., 
generally in pines or cedars, 20-50 feet up. Eggs, 4-6, similar in color to 
those of the preceding species, 1*52 x 1*06. Date , Lake Kissimmee, Fla., 
Apl. 30; D. C., May 5; Seven Mile Beach, N. J., May 15. 
The Fish Crow can be distinguished from the common Crow in 
life only by its call. Its voice is cracked and reedy, and its notes resem- 
ble those of a young common Crow. .Instead of the loud, clear, open 
caw of adults of that species, it utters a hoarser car , as if it talked through 
