Gong don—Saskatchewun Birds . 609 
488. American Grow. 
Corvus americanus Aud. 
This black robber was always in evidence. It was a common 
sight to see eggs of the various water birds, emptied of their 
contents and scattered along the edge of a slough or lake. In 
one case a pair of Crows had built their nest on an island, close 
to the edge of which a colony of HolboelFs Grebes were nesting. 
The number of egg shells scattered about gave evidence of the 
work of the Grows. 
The nest of the Grow was frequently found built in one of the 
trees of a poplar bluff or in tall willows. The situation was 
generally not more than ten or fifteen feet from the ground. 
Several nests were built in scrubby clumps of trees growing in 
pools of water, the nests being situated in the branches nine or 
ten feet above the water. A nest found at Saskatoon, hT. W. T., 
on May 3, contained four fresh eggs. The tree in which the 
nest was built was growing on the steep, wooded bank of the 
Saskatchewan Elver. The nest was situated in the crotch of a 
poplar, at a height of eleven feet. It was composed of sticks, 
twigs, rootlets and binding twine, lined with strips of bark, 
binding twine, grass and a large amount of hair. The bird re¬ 
mained on the nest, as is usually the case, until the tree was 
struck with a stick. One nest observed was lined almost entirely 
with cow’s hair which had been taken from a dead cow lying on 
the prairie near the poplar bluff in which the nest was situated. 
It certainly did make a cosy nest. The site chosen by the pair 
of birds spoken of as nesting near the colony of Grebes was 
rather novel. The island on which the nest was built was low 
and, at one end of it, a large number of overturned stumps and 
small logs were strewn over the ground. One of the stumps 
stood upright, propped up by its roots, and under this crude 
arch the Grows had built their nest. 
Several nests were found from May 3 h> May 19, and in most 
cases the eggs—four or five in number—were either fresh or 
slightly incubated. 
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