226 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



CORVUS BRACHYREYNCHOS BRACHYRHYNCHOS Brehm 

 EASTERN CROW 



Plates 39-42 

 Contributed by Alfred Otto Gross 



HABITS 



It has been aptly stated that if a person knows only three birds one of 

 them will be the crow. The crow, if we include all the five subspecies, is 

 widely distributed over the greater part of the North American Conti- 

 nent. Throughout this area this familiar bird is instantly recognized by 

 anyone w^ho sees it. Because of its striking coal-black plumage, its 

 large size, its unusual adaptability, its extreme cunning and apparent 

 intelligence, its harsh garrulous notes, and its habit of frequently ap- 

 pearing in the open, it has become one of the best known of our Amer- 

 ican birds. The common name crow is universally applied, and I know 

 of no English local synonyms for it. Even before white man came to 

 America it was well known to the Indians and every tribe had its name 

 for this bird, which was such a conspicuous creature of their environ- 

 ment. 



Unfortunately the crow has a questionable record as far as his rela- 

 tions to human interests are concerned. No bird has been the subject 

 of more heated controversy than the crow, and none of our birds have 

 been more violently persecuted by man. In spite of incessant persecu- 

 tion the crow has been able to outwit his human adversaries by its un- 

 usual intelligence and instinct of self-preservation, to the extent that it 

 has been able to maintain its existence in all parts of its wide and diver- 

 sified range. For this the crow commands our admiration. 



Spring. — A few crows winter in northern New England, but the ma- 

 jority of them are found farther south during the season of extreme cold 

 weather. The first arrivals of the spring migration reach Maine during 

 February, but it is not until the latter part of the month or the first week 

 of March that they become common. Low (1934), in connection with 

 banding operations at the Austin Ornithological Research Station on 

 Cape Cod, Mass., has collected data that suggest that three populations 

 of crows may be found there as follows — permanent residents, breeding 

 birds that winter to the south, and northern breeders that either winter 

 or migrate through the region. 



Determinations of sex ratios at roosts by Hicks and Dambach (1935) 

 indicate that the migration of the sexes may differ in range and extent. 

 Certain of our populations of crows undergo a relatively short migration, 



