246 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



with great attention and soon reacted to him and his wife as it would 

 have to its own parents if left in the wild. The crow followed them 

 about, fluttering its wings and excitably begging for food. After it had 

 learned to fly it paid no attention to local wild crows or to other human 

 beings about the c^mp, but would single out Mr. Cruickshank or his 

 wife and follow them everywhere. The food-begging act was performed 

 for them only. The appearance of either of them or the sound of their 

 voices was sufficient to start its begging. In various other ways this pet 

 crow showed that it had thoroughly accepted its human foster parents 

 and rejected all others. The other crow, obtained a few years before, 

 had been taken on the day it left the nest. Though kept in isolation for 

 the ensuing two weeks this crow never accepted Mr. Cruickshank in any 

 way. His appearance never released the begging act, and the bird was 

 always interested in the calls of nearby crows. At the first opportunity 

 it flew off into the woods and never returned. This individual evidently 

 had been obtained at too late a period. The imprinting had already 

 taken place, and even close attention and strict isolation did not initiate 

 a reverse. 



The above experience readily explains the varying success persons 

 have had in attempting to make pets of crows. Many have written about 

 their pet crows, but one of the most detailed accounts is presented by 

 Norman Criddle (1927), who had four crows that he obtained near 

 Treesbank, Manitoba, on June 19, 1926. These birds exhibited con- 

 siderable fear when first obtained, and it was necessary to feed them 

 by force, but after a day they strongly exhibited the begging reactions. 

 They greeted his approach by enthusiastic cries for food and their fear 

 of man had vanished. Later, when able to fly, they were allowed to 

 roost among the trees, but in the morning they collected around the 

 feeding cage and his approach was always greeted with enthusiasm. 

 They would alight on his head and shoulders as readily as on any other 

 perch. During the day the crows devoted much of their time collecting 

 and hiding objects of various kinds. As they grew older, berries and 

 other food were hidden with the definite object of using it later when 

 hungry. One of the crows would alight on its foster parent's shoulder, 

 pull out the pocket handkerchief, deposit a throatful of berries, and then 

 carefully shove the hankerchief back into place on top of them. The 

 love of destructiveness became a dominant trait. Newspapers and 

 brightly colored flowers in the garden were pulled to small bits, and 

 other objects were similarly treated. When a pan of water was pro- 

 vided they soon took to bathing, although they had never experienced 

 water before. Bathing and playing in the water became a regular pastime. 

 Sometimes, after flying to Mr. Griddle's shoulder, they would playfully 



