. Bird-life: a guide to the study of our common birds . ous and Wood QuaUof South America) are not members of the suborder ofSong Birds. If, however, the relative intelligence of the two fam-ilies be taken into account, there can be no doubt thatCorvidce fully deserve to be considered the most highlydeveloped of birds. How many tales are told of thehuman actions of the Eaven, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie,Jay, and Crow! Of the two hundred members of this family, six in-habit eastern North America, by far the most commonbeing the Crow. No one of our birdsV, . is better known, and still, how ignorant we
. Bird-life: a guide to the study of our common birds . ous and Wood QuaUof South America) are not members of the suborder ofSong Birds. If, however, the relative intelligence of the two fam-ilies be taken into account, there can be no doubt thatCorvidce fully deserve to be considered the most highlydeveloped of birds. How many tales are told of thehuman actions of the Eaven, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie,Jay, and Crow! Of the two hundred members of this family, six in-habit eastern North America, by far the most commonbeing the Crow. No one of our birdsV, . is better known, and still, how ignorant we are of his ways! I am not surethat he does not know more about ours. We have noteven recorded his notes, for, in spite of the current opin-ion that the Crows calls are restricted to caw, he has anextended vocabulary. I am not aware that he everascends to the height of a love song, but that he canconverse fluently no one who has listened to him willquestion. Of the variants of caw, each with its ownsignificance, there seems no end; but if you would be. Plate XLVII. p^oj, ^^ rOX SPAKROW. LeDgth, 7-25 inches. Upper parts, wiogs, and tail briglit reddishbrown ; back and head mixed with a browner color; under parts whiteand bright reddish brown. AMERICAN CROW. 129 impressed with tlie Crows eloquence you must hear himwhen, in the fancied privacy of his own flock or family,he discusses the aflEairs of the day. His notes then arelow, and so Taried in tone that one can not doubt theirconversational character. During the winter Crows assemble in large flockscontaining many thousand individuals, who nightly re-turn to some roost, which perhaps has been frequentedfor years. In March they begin to pair and the nest isconstructed early in April. It is a bulky affair ofsticks, lined chiefly with grapevine bark, and is placed ina tree, usually about thirty feet from the ground. Thefour to six eggs are bluish green, thickly marked withshades of brown. Crows share with Hawks the reputation of b
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
