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Show 251 85. Scoleoophagus cyanooepkalus, ( Wagl.).- Brewer's Blackbird. A very abundant species thronghont the State and a constant resident. In summer they prefer the neighborhood of the streams to the marshes proper, though found in the latter in company with the Tri- colored Blackbirds, there existing between the two species an unusually close intimacy. Many of these birds were breeding in oompany with a large colony of the A. tricolor before mentioned. Xo. aw < i97 Sex. 9 ad. Fort Tejon, Cal Near Kernville, Cal.. Locality. Date. Aug. 8 Oct 27 Collector. H. " W. Hensbaw... do CORVID*:.- CROWS. 86. Corvus corax, Linn., var. oarnivorus, Baxtr.- American Raven. The Raven is an abundant resident in California, and is found without much reference to locality. Its omnivorous tastes and its great usefulness as a scavenger are well known. I saw Ravens occasionally on Santa Cruz Island, and, on inquiry, learned that they were no favorites with the sheep- raisers here, on account of their habit of occasionally destroying the lambs. Captain Forney informed me that he had been an eye- witness to the destruction of a lamb by one of these birds, the attack being made first upon the eves, which were torn out. This habit of the Raven, he states, was well known to the shepherds. 87. Corvus eaurinus, ( Bd.).- Western Fish- Crow. Corvtu eaurinus, Bd., B. N. A., 1858,569.- Coop. & Suckl., P. R. R. Sep., voL xii, pt. ii. 1860,311. - Ball & Bann., Tr. Chic Acad., i, 1869, 286.- Coop., B. Cal., i, 1870, 985.- B., B., & R., N. A. B., ii, 1874,248.- Bendire, Proo. Boat Soo. Nat. Hist., voL xvitt, 1876,159 ( Camp Harney, Oreg.). Corvus amerioanus var. eaurinus, Cooes, Key N. A. B., 1872,163. Corvtu ossifragus, Newb., P. R R Rep., vi, 1857,83. In the uncertainty respecting the relations of this bird, I am disposed to keep it apart from the Corvus amerioanus, with which it has been associated as a variety by some writers, till its relationship be established on a firmer basis than at present. It appears to be mainly distinguishable from its smaller size and certain apparent differences of habits. I regret I can add so little to our knowledge of the subject. On the road from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, these Crows were seen on several occasions, always in large flocks, and at a distance from the coast of from 5 to 15 miles. In fact, in Southern California, the species does not appear to be specially all maritime in its habits, if, indeed, it is so to more than a moderate extent. In its northern home, however, on Puget Sound and elsewhere, it is essentially a bird of the coast, living there upon shell- fish and the refuse cast up by the waves. In my own brief experience in California I saw nothing in their manner incompatible with the normal habits of the Common Crow. In this respect, however, it is not different from the Fish- Crow ( osstfragus) of the Gulf States, which, save in its maritime proclivities, presents little to distinguish its habits from those of the Common Crow ; vet the Fish Crow in Florida is found very often miles away from the coast, while not infrequently I have there seen the Corvus amerioanus associated with it in its excursions along shore. The truth seems to be that with birds possessing the omnivorous tastes of the Crows, it is the quantity and ease with which food is obtained that directs their choice more than anything else. Hence, about Puget Sound and this region generally, as in the warm waters of Florida, where raollusks and crustaceans exist in greatest abundance, the habit of resorting to the shores for the chief part of their living has become a fixed one, while elsewhere they find it easier to obtain their food from the interior. The notes of eaurinus, as I heard them in California, were different from those of the Corvus americanus, and I should say they resemble very closely those of the true Fish Crow. Certainly, no one hearing their hoarse calls could for a moment mistake them for the Common Crow. Like the Fish Crow, the C eaurinus keeps very much in flocks, and it is said to even build in communities. No. Sex. 186 i < f Jan. Locality. Date. July 5 Collector. H." W. Henshaw. |