Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/306

270 cattle, to search there for the larvae 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 exo- tic tree now naturalized in South Carolina, and plentiful about Charles- ton, 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 Fish- crows 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 Carohnas, this species usually breeds on moderate- sized trees of the loblolly pine (Pinus Toeda), 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.