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.
Corvus ossifragus, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 57.
Fish-Crow, Corvus ossifragus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. v. p. 27. pl. 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 declinate, the sides concave at the base, flat in the middle, the edges slightly inflected, the tip declinate; lower mandible straight, the dorsal line slightly convex, the sides at the base flat, towards the end rounded, the edges inclinate. Nostrils basal, lateral, round, covered by bristly feathers. Head large, neck short, body moderate. Legs of moderate length, strong, tarsus compressed, covered anteriorly with scutella, sharp behind; toes united at the base, the middle toe long, the outer longer than the inner, the hind toe robust; claws rather large, arched, compressed, acute, channelled beneath.
Plumage soft, highly glossed, on the head and neck blended, on the back compact. Stiff bristly feathers, with disunited barbs over the nostrils, directed forwards and adpressed. Wings long, first primary short, third longest, fourth little shorter, seventh equal to first; primaries tapering, second, third, fourth, and fifth, slightly cut out on the outer web; secondaries broad, rounded with a minute acumen.
Tail of moderate length, slightly rounded, of twelve straight feathers.
Beak, tarsi, toes, and claws, black. Iris dark brown. The general colour of the plumage is deep black, with blue and purple reflections above, blue and greenish beneath; the colouring being almost the same as that of the Common American Crow.
Length 16 inches, extent of wings 33; bill along the back 1 11⁄12; tarsus 1¾; middle toe and claw 1 11⁄12.
Adult Female. Plate CXLVI. Fig. 2.