426 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



Complaints of thiri nature come from all parts of the country, but naturally 

 .are most frequent in those regions where Crows nest abundantly. We 

 have heard scores of complaints from farmers in Michigan and it may be 

 safely affirmed that in this state Crows kill far more chickens than all species 

 of hawks combined. In some instances poultry raisers have noticed the 

 loss of young chickens continuously for days or even weeks without suspect- 

 ing the cause, for although Crows were frequently seen in the vicinity 

 they were not observed to trouble the chickens and in the absence of hawks 

 it was difficult to account for the loss. Careful observation, however, 

 shows that the Crow is very adroit in his chicken stealing, usually visiting 

 the poultry yards very early in the morning, often before sunrise, although 

 in some instances he becomes bolder and makes his visits at any time of 

 day. Often he may be seen sitting on fence or tree not far from the 

 barn, but apparently unconcerned about the chickens which may be near. 

 He watches his opportunity, however, and at the favorable moment floats 

 quietly to the ground, snatches up a downy chicken and flies swiftly away 

 to the nearest woods. 



For some obscure reason these visits of the Crow do not cause the flurry 

 and alarm which follows the visit of the hawk, and often no outcry is raised 

 except perhaps by the mother of the unfortunate chick. One successful 

 exploit of this kind is followed quickly by another and in this way a score 

 or more of chickens may be taken in the course of a week without the 

 detection, or at least without the punishment, of the thief. Such robberies 

 are more frequent when the broods of chickens are at some distance from 

 the house and especially when the hen has stolen her nest in the woods 

 some distance away. A Crow has no objection to taking the eggs of poultry 

 when these can be had but except in cases like that just mentioned it seldom 

 gets the opportunity. 



Turning now to a consideration of the vegetable food of the Ciow we 

 find still less to commend and much more to condemn. Directly or in- 

 directly the Crow inflicts a large amount of damage on the agriculturist 

 and in most cases it is possible to estimate this loss with considerable 

 accuracy and weigh it with approximate justice against the good. 



The principal vegetable foods of the Crow are corn, wheat, oats, l)uck- 

 wheat and the seeds of some grasses and weeds, together with a considerable 

 amount of acorns, chestnuts and beechnuts (collectively spoken of as 

 "mast"), to which is added a comparatively small amount of cultivated 

 fruits, particularly cherries, strawberries, and l)lackberries, and a rather 

 larger amount of various wild fruits and berries. In the consumption of 

 all this vegetable food the Crow is known to do good in but two ways; 

 namely, in the destruction of a very limited amount of the seeds of grasses 

 and weeds, and in the distribution or planting of chestnuts, acorns, beech^ 

 nuts and the seeds of various more or less valuable trees, particularly tho'se 

 of the wild cherry (Primus serotina) and the red cedar (Jvniperus 

 virginiana). The good work done in this way should of course be taken 

 into consideration, but it is not greater, if it is as great, as that done by 

 numei-ous other species; moreover it is entirely offset by the large amount 

 of harm done by distributing the seeds of poison sumac and poison oak 

 or poison ivy (Rhus venenata and toxicodendron). 



In common with many other birds the Crow eats freely the berries of all 

 the species of Rhus, but is particularly fond of the poisonous species above 

 named, and during the colder half of the year it often eats these in immense 

 quantities. The writer has frequently taken more than a hundi'cd seeds 



