COR V US CARNIVOVS. 
153 
of the eye backwards and forwards very rapidly. At this time they also uttered a croak 
which resembled the alarm note of the Green Heron. I do not think that the males share 
in the duties of incubation but they certainly care for the young when they appear. I 
found the fully fledged nestlings flying at Lake Harney by the first week in May, and Mr. 
Nauman writes me that they bring out two or even three broods in one season. I have 
seen the Boat-tailed Grackles as far north as Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, on the 
twentieth of November, and at Smithville on the twenty-second, but I did not meet with 
them after this along the coast until we reached the St. John’s River. This was during 
the cold season of 1876-77 when they would be much more likely to seek warmer quarters. 
I do not think, however, that they remain above Florida during winter, but they migrate 
northward in the spring as far, at least, as Virginia. 
FAMILY XVII. CORVIDiE. THE CROWS AND JAYS. 
Upper mandible, more or less curved and usually notched. Lower mandible, not swollen at base. Nostrils , almost al¬ 
ways covered with projecting bristles. Coracoids, shorter than top of keel which is moderately high, but not exceeding in 
height one third the length of the coracoids. Marginal indentations not exceeding in depth the height of the keel. Primaries, 
ten. 
This Family is largely represented in the Old Word as well as in the New. There is an apparent resemblance to some 
members of the preceding Family, but the bristly feathers of the bill, ten primaries, and the peculiar form of the sternum 
will serve to distinguish them. The coeca are very well developed, and the stomach is usually quite muscular. The fe¬ 
males do not differ from the males, or at least in our native species. 
GENUS I. CORVUS. THE CROWS. 
Gen. Ch. Bill, stout, about as long as the head. Upper mandible, curved. Wings, much longer than the tail which is 
rounded. Sternum, well proportioned with the expanded, termination of thefurcula short. Marginal indentations, very 
shallow. Size, large. 
The prevailing colors are black. The five pairs of laryngeal muscles of this genus are particularly distinct and will 
serve to illustrate this character as given under Section I, Oscines. (See plate VI. Nos., 1,2,3, and 4, of which explanations 
are given at the end of this section.) 
CORVUS CARNIVOUS. 
American Raven. 
Corvus carnivous Bartram, Travels in E. Fla; 1793, 290. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Ch. Form, robust. Size, large. Feet, stout. Tongue, somewhat fleshy, but thin and horny at tip, which is bi¬ 
fid, and provided with a terminal cilia which extends along the sides, black in color. Sternum, stout. Feathers of neck 
and throat, lance-shaped. 
Color. Adult male. Lustrous black throughout, with purplish reflections which are more noticeable on the back, 
neck, and breast. Bill and feet, black. 
Young of the year. Quite similar to the adult but considerably duller. The bill is brownish and the soles of the feet, 
lighter. 
Nestlings, Uniform dull brownish-black beneath. Head above, darker. The wings and tail are lustrous with purplish 
reflections, as in the above for the feathers are not moulted. Bill and feet, brown. Sexes, similar in all stages. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
There is little or no variation excepting in size, which depends greatly upon the locality. Winter birds are brighter in 
color. Readily known by the superior size, and lance-shaped feathers on the neck. Distributed as a constant resident 
throughout Eastern North America north of Massachusetts and everywhere west of the Mississippi River. Rare in the 
Alleghany Mountains and on the coast of New Jersey. 
BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 
