Its gait, while on the ground, is elevated and graceful, its ordinary
mode of progression being a sedate walk,, although it occasionally hops
when under excitement. It not unfrequently alights on the backs of cattle,
to pick out the worms lurking in their skin, in the same manner as the
Magpie, Fish-Crow, and Cow-bird. Its note or cry may be imitated by
the syllables caw, caw, caw, being different from the cry of the European
Carrion Crow, and resembling the distant bark of a small dog.
At Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania I saw a pair of Crows perfectly white,
in the possession of Mr LAMPDIN, the owner of the museum there, who
assured me that five which were found in the nest were of the same
colour.
I have placed the pensive oppressed Crow of our country on a beautiful
branch of the Black Walnut tree, loaded with nuts, on the lower twig
of which I have represented the delicate nest of our Common Humming
Bird, to fulfil the promise which I made when writing the history of that
species for my first volume.
In conclusion, I would again address our farmers, and tell them that if
they persist in killing Crows, the best season for doing so is when their
corn begins to ripen.
CORVUS AMERICANUS.
CORVUS CORONE, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 5 6 . —
Nultall, Manual, p. 209.—Swains, and Richards. Fauna Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 291,
THE CROW, CORVUS CORONE, Wits. Amer. Ornith. vol. iv. p. 79. pi. 35. fig. 3 .
Adult Male. Plate CLVI.
Bill longish, straight, robust, compressed; upper mandible with the
dorsal fine a little convex, declinate towards the end, the sides convex ;
lower mandible straight, the sides inclined obliquely outwards ; the edges
of both sharp and inflected. Nostrils basal, lateral, round, covered by
bristly feathers, which are directed forwards. Head large, neck of ordinary
length, body of moderate proportions, the whole form rather compact
and not inelegant. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus anteriorly
scutellate, rather longer than the middle toe; toes scutellate above,
separated almost to the base; first, second, and fourth nearly equal in
length, third longest; claws moderate, arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage of the back compact, of the head and neck blended, and
glossy, of the lower parts rather loose. Stiff bristly feathers with disunited
barbs over the nostrils, directed forwards and adpressed. Wings
long, first primary short, fourth longest; primaries tapering, secondaries
broad, the outer abrupt with a minute acumen, the inner rounded. Tail
rather long, rounded, of twelve nearly straight, rounded feathers, their
shafts distinctly undulated.
Beak, tarsi, toes and claws, black. Iris brown. The general colour
of the plumage is deep black, with purplish-blue reflections, the hind parts
of the neck tinged with purplish-brown ; the lower parts less glossy.
Length 18 inches, extent of wings 3 feet 2 inches; bill along the ridge
2ft ; tarsus 2£.
The Female differs from the Male in being less glossy, but the difference
is not very perceptible. The young when fully fledged are of a rather
dull brownish-black, with the blue and purple reflections much less brilliant.
After a careful comparison of specimens of the European Carrion
Crow with others of the American Crow, I have found decided differences,
which to me seem quite sufficient to set the question of their identity
at rest.
The European Crow is larger than the American ; the length of the
former being 20 inches, that of the latter 18; and the wing from the
flexure to the extremity is proportional, being in the one 13 \ inches, in
the other 12.
The bill is stronger and deeper, more convex on the sides, and with
the edges more involute in the Carrion Crow than in the American Crow,
the depth at the base in the former being in the latter
The scutella of the tarsus in both are 10, but the feet of the Carrion
Crow are much stronger and its toes and claws larger than those of the other.
In the European Crow, the fourth primary is longest, the third almost
equal, and this is also the case in the American, although slight differences
occur in individuals.
The principal character besides the different form of the bill, is to be
found in the feathers of the neck. In the European bird, the feathers
of the hind neck are narrow, and although blended, have their points
distinct; while in the American bird, they are broad, rounded, and perfectly
blended, so that their individual form cannot be traced. The feathers
of the fore neck in the former are lanceolate, compact at the end,
x 2*