Lewis: December 18, 1805
At Fort Clatsop, one of the men shot a bird of the crow family that had been feeding on meat scraps near camp. Lewis devoted the day's entry to a detailed description of the specimen, recording its size (about 10 inches long), beak shape, eye color, black legs and talons, twelve tail feathers, and plumage of pale bluish white below and bluish black above. He noted the bird's call and range across the pine country and Rocky Mountains, and briefly mentioned two other related blue-colored birds seen earlier.
Fort Clatsop, December 18th 1805. This day one of the men shot a bird of
the Corvus genus, which was feeding on some fragments of meat near the
camp. this bird is about the size of the kingbird or bee martin, and not
unlike that bird in form. the beak is 3/4 of an inch long, wide at the
base, of a convex, and cultrated figure, beset with some small black hairs
near it’s base. the chaps are of nearly equal lengths tho the upper
exceeds the under one a little, and has a small nich in the upper chap
near the extremity perceptable only by close examineation. the colour of
the beak is black. the eye is large and prominent, the puple black, and
iris of a dark yellowish brown. the legs and feet are black and
imbricated. has four toes on each foot armed with long sharp tallons; the
hinder toe is nearly as long as the middle toe in front and longer than
the two remaining toes. the tale is composed of twelve fathers the longest
of which are five inches, being six in number placed in the center. the
remaining six are placed 3 on either side and graduly deminish to four
inches which is the shortest and outer feathers. the tail is half the
length of the bird, the whole length from the extremity of the beak to the
extremity of the tale being 10 Inches. the head from it’s joining the nect
forward as far as the eyes nearly to the base of the beak and on each side
as low as the center of the eye is black. arround the base of the beak the
throat jaws, neck, brest and belley are of a pale bluish white. the wings
back and tale are of a bluish black with a small shade of brown. this bird
is common to this piny country are also found in the rockey mountains on
the waters of the columbia river or woody side of those mountains, appear
to frequent the highest sumits of those mountains as far as they are
covered with timber. their note is que, quit-it, que-hoo; and tah, tah,
&there is another bird of reather larger size which I saw on
the woddy parts of the rockey mountains and on the waters of the Missouri,
this bird I could never kill tho I made several attempts, the predominate
colour is a dark blue the tale is long and they are not crested; I believe
them to be of the corvus genus also. their note is char, char, char-ar,
char; the large blue crested corvus of the Columbia river is also
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Fort Clatsop, December 18th, 1805. Today one of the men shot a bird of the Corvus genus, which was feeding on some fragments of meat near the camp. This bird is about the size of the kingbird or bee martin, and not unlike that bird in form. The beak is 3/4 of an inch long, wide at the base, of a convex and knife-like shape, set with some small black hairs near its base. The upper and lower parts of the beak are of nearly equal lengths, though the upper exceeds the lower a little, and has a small notch in the upper part near the tip, perceptible only by close examination. The color of the beak is black. The eye is large and prominent, the pupil black, and the iris a dark yellowish brown. The legs and feet are black and scaled. It has four toes on each foot, armed with long sharp talons; the hind toe is nearly as long as the middle toe in front and longer than the two remaining toes.
The tail is composed of twelve feathers, the longest of which are five inches, being six in number placed in the center. The remaining six are placed three on either side and gradually diminish to four inches, which is the length of the shortest and outermost feathers. The tail is half the length of the bird, the whole length from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail being 10 inches. The head, from where it joins the neck forward as far as the eyes, nearly to the base of the beak, and on each side as low as the center of the eye, is black. Around the base of the beak, the throat, jaws, neck, breast, and belly are of a pale bluish white. The wings, back, and tail are of a bluish black with a small shade of brown.
This bird is common to this pine country and is also found in the Rocky Mountains on the waters of the Columbia River, or the wooded side of those mountains. They appear to frequent the highest summits of those mountains as far as they are covered with timber. Their note is que, quit-it, que-hoo; and tah, tah.
There is another bird of rather larger size which I saw on the wooded parts of the Rocky Mountains and on the waters of the Missouri. This bird I could never kill, though I made several attempts. The predominant color is a dark blue, the tail is long, and they are not crested; I believe them to be of the Corvus genus also. Their note is char, char, char-ar, char. The large blue crested corvus of the Columbia River is also
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