CROWS AND JAYS 



231 



The Crow is coiiinioiily rej^ardod as a blackleg 

 and a thief. Without the dash ami brilliancy of 

 the Jay, or the bold savagery of the Hawk, he is 

 accused of doing more mischief than either. 

 That he does ]jull up sprouting corn, destroy 

 chickens, and rob the nests of small birds has 

 been rejjcatedly proved. Nor are these all of his 

 sins. He is known to cat frogs, toads, salrunan- 

 ders. and some small snakes, all harmless crea- 

 tures that do some good by eating insects. With 

 so many charges against him, it may be well to 

 show why he should not be utterly condemned. 



The examination of a large mnnber of 

 stomachs shows that the nest-robhing habil, as 

 in the case of the Jay, is not so universal as has 

 been supposed. Neither are many toads and 

 frogs eaten. As frogs are of no practical value, 

 their destruction is not a serious matter; l)ut 

 toads are very useful, and their consumption, so 

 far as it goes, must be counted against the crow. 

 Turtles, crawfishes, and snails, of which he eats 

 quite a large number, may be considered neutral, 

 while mice may be counted to his credit. 



In his insect food, however, the Crow makes 

 amends for sins in the rest of his dietary, al- 

 though even here the first item is against him. 

 Predacious beetles are eaten in some numbers 

 throughout the season, but the number is not 

 great. May beetles, June bug*, and others of 

 the same family constitute the principal food 

 during spring and early summer, and are fed 

 to the young in immense quantities. Other 

 beetles, nearly all of a noxious character, are 

 eaten to a considerable extent. The Crowjs no 

 exception to the general rule that most birds sub- 

 sist, to a large extent, upon grasshoppers in the 

 month of August. Many bugs, some caterpillars, 

 mostly cutworms, and some spiders are also 

 eaten — all of them either harmful or neutral. 

 Probably the most important item in the vege- 

 table food of the Crow is corn. By pulling up 

 the newly sprouted seeds, the bird renders him- 

 self extremely obnoxious. Observation and ex- 

 periments with tame Crows show that hard, dry 

 corn is never eaten if anything else is to be had. 

 and that if fed to nestlings it is soon disgorged. 

 The reason Crows resort to newly planted fields 

 is that the kernels of corn are softened by the 

 moisture of the earth, and probably become more 

 palatable in the process of germination, which 

 changes the starch of the grain to sugar. Crows 

 eat com extensively only when it has been 

 softened by germination or partial decay, or be- 

 fore it is ripe and still " in the milk." Experience 

 has shown that they may be prevented from 

 pulling up young corn by tarring the seed, which 

 not only saves the corn but forces them to turn 



iheii' allenlion to insects. If tliev ])crsist in 

 eating green corn it is not so easy to prevent the 

 damage. 



Crows eat fruit to some extent, but confine 

 themselves for the most ])art to wild species, 

 such as dogwood, sour gum, and seeds of the 

 different kinds of sumac. They have also a habit 

 of sampling .almost everything which a])pears 

 eatable. es])eci;illy when food is scarce. 



In estimating the usefulness of the Crow, the 

 bird should receive much credit for the insects 

 which it destroys. In the more thickly settled 

 parts of the country it probably does more good 

 than harm, at least when ordinary precautions 



Photo l)y H. K. Job Courtesy of Outing Pub. Co. 



YOUNG CROWS IN NEST 



Five red flannel mouths stretched agape 



are taken to protect young poultry and newly 

 planted corn against its depredations. 



F. E. L. Beal. 



Two smaller forms of the Common Crow are 

 found in North America. The Florida Crow 

 {Comis brachyrhynchos pascuus) is confined 

 to the peninsula of Florida. The Western 

 Crow (Corviis bracliyrhyiichos hesperis) ranges 

 through western North American from east- 

 central British Columbia and Montana south to 

 southern California, Arizona, and western Texas. 



The Northwestern Crow (Crozv caiirinns) 

 is found all along the northwest coast of North 

 .\merica from northwestern Washington to the 

 .\laskan peninsula. It is even smaller than the 

 Florida and Western Crows, but it so much like 

 them that Ridgway considered it only another 

 form of the Common Crow. 



