cattle, to search there for the larva? which frequently harbour in their
skin.
During winter and spring, the Fish-crows are very fond of feeding on
many kinds of berries. After the frosts have imparted a rich flavour to
those of the cassina (Ilex Cassina), they are seen feeding on them in
flocks often amounting to more than a hundred individuals. They are
also fond of the berries of the holly (Ilex opaca), and of those of an exotic
tree now naturalized in South Carolina, and plentiful about Charleston,
the tallow-tree (Stillingia sebifera). The seeds of this tree, which
is originally from China, are of a white colour when ripe, and contain a
considerable quantity of an oily substance. In the months of January
and February, these trees are covered by the crows, which greedily devour
the berries. As spring advances, and the early fruits ripen, the Fishcrows
become fond of the mulberry, and select the choicest of the ripe
figs, more especially when they are feeding their young. A dozen are
often seen at a time, searching for the tree which has the best figs, and so
troublesome do they become in the immediate vicinity of Charleston, that
it is found necessary to station a man near a fig-tree with a gun, not to
burn powder to drive the Crows away by the smell, but to fire in good
earnest at them. They eat pears also, as well as various kinds of huckleberries
(Vaccinium), and I have seen them feeding on the berries of at
least one species of smilax.
In the Floridas, Georgia, and the Carolinas, this species usually breeds
on moderate-sized trees of the loblolly pine (Pinus Tceda), making its
nest generally about twenty or thirty feet from the ground, towards the
extremities of the branches. In the State of New Jersey, where they are
frequently killed in common with the larger crow, in whose company they
are often found, they are more careful, and place their nests in the interior
of the deepest and most secluded swamps. The nest is smaller than
that of the Common Crow, and is composed of sticks, moss, and grasses,
neatly finished or lined with fibrous roots. The eggs are from four to
six, and resemble those of the Common American Crow, but are smaller.
I once found several nests of this crow a few miles from Philadelphia, in
the State of Jersey, which were placed on high oaks and other trees. The
birds when disturbed, evinced much concern for the safety of their brood.
Although I have found this species breeding in different districts, from
February till May, I am unable to say decidedly whether it raises more
than one brood in the year, although I am of opinion that it does not.
The common note of the Fish-Crow is different from that of the other
species of the genus, resembling the syllables ha, ha, hae, frequently repeated.
At times the sound of their voice seems as if a faint mimicry of
that of the Common Crow; at others, one would suppose that they are
troubled with a cough or cold. During the breeding season, their notes
are much varied, and are not disagreeable.
Their flight is strong and protracted. While searching for food, these
birds hover at a moderate height over the water; but when they rise in
the air, to amuse themselves, they often reach a great elevation. While
on the ground, their movements are graceful, and resemble those of the
Boat-tailed Grakle. Like the other crows, they are fond of replacing
their wings, as it were, in their proper situations, frequently opening them
out a little, and instantly closing them again.
On several occasions, when one of these birds had been wounded, I
found, on approaching it, that it had the power of disgorging its food
somewhat in the manner of the Turkey Buzzard. When one is thus
wounded, its companions come sailing over you, with a loud scream, in
the manner of gulls, so that several may be brought down by an expert
marksman, as they are not easily intimidated at such times. Indeed, this
species is easily approached, and may be killed without difficulty. I have
known fifteen of them shot at once, while feeding on the cassina berries.
During winter, when they are chiefly frugivorous, they become extremely
fat and very tender. Their pouch-like stomach, although large, is not
muscular; the intestines are large and baggy. Very few are bare on the
lower mandible; perhaps among a hundred which I have examined, not
more than six or seven exhibited this nakedness, without removing the
feathers of that part with the hand.
I have represented a pair on a branch of the Honey-locust, already
figured in my first volume, but here represented with its matured fruit.
Convus ossiFitAGUs, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the UnitedJStates, p. 57.
FISH-CROW, CORVUS OSSIFRAGUS, Wits. Amer. Ornith. vol. v. p. 27. pi. 37. fig. 2.
Nuttall, Manual, part i. p. 216.
Adult Male. Plate CXLVI. Fig. 1.
Bill longish, straight, robust, somewhat compressed; upper mandible
with the dorsal line arched and declínate, the sides concave at the base,
flat in the middle, the edges slightly inflected, the tip declínate; lower