256 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



front made by the bill and a few heaps of excreta on the opposite side, 

 showing the bird had spent all night in that position, always with the 

 head turned toward the wind, letting the wind sweep over its back, but 

 keeping the feet from freezing." 



Although crows are very resourceful in combating the adverse 

 weather conditions of winter, extreme subzero temperatures have been 

 known to play havoc with them at the roosts. J. W. Preston wrote 

 Bendire (1895) of a roost of 40,000 crows located near Baxter, Iowa, 

 in which many of the birds died of starvation during the cold winter of 

 1891-92 because they were blinded from the freezing of the corneas of 

 their eyes. Likewise, Ridgway in Science, February 10, 1893, p. 77, 

 mentions the sufferings of the crows in a roost near Washington, D. C. 

 He states that many had their eyes frozen, which was followed by the 

 bursting of the organs and the consequent death of the birds from 

 starvation. 



Crows have probably evolved the habit of congregating in roosts 

 for mutual protection, but in the present day, since the verdict con- 

 cerning their relations to man's interests in certain States has been 

 pronounced against them, thousands of individuals are killed by man 

 at the very roosts where they sought refuge against danger. Imler 

 (1939) states that 26,000 birds were killed by the bombing of a large 

 crow roost near Dempsey, Okla., on December 10, 1937. The Game 

 and Fish Commission bombed another roost at Binger, Okla., on De- 

 cember 6, 1938, killing 18,000 crows. Frank S. Davis, inspector for 

 the Illinois State Department of Conservation, killed 328,000 crows 

 in roosts near Rockford, 111., with the use of festoons of dynamite bombs. 

 This wholesale slaughter was given great publicity, appearing with photo- 

 graphs in the issue of Life for March 25, 1940. Numerous roosts 

 throughout the winter range of the crow in the Middle west and South 

 have been dealt with in a similar manner. In addition to shooting and 

 bombing, poisons also have been employed. This unprecedented de- 

 struction of bird life has been received with both commendation and 

 violent criticism. Some of the larger roosts numbering hundreds of 

 thousands of individuals provide us with one of the most spectacular 

 scenes of bird life. It is indeed unfortunate that departments of con- 

 servation find it necessary to destroy them. 



Winter. — Along the New England coast winter is one of the most 

 interesting seasons for a study of crows. At this time they are more 

 numerous than during summer, since the snow-bound conditions of the 

 interior bring them to the tidal shores, where there is a more accessible 

 and constant food supply. They may be seen leaving the roosts early 

 in the morning, often before sunrise, in groups of two or three to a 



