BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. 24 1 



cious appetite of the Crow evidently leads it to eat a gi'eat deal and to eject 

 much of this before obtaining the full food value. This is sho^vn especially 

 in the condition of the berries, for even cranberries are sometimes ejected 



entire. , 



Another pellet found on March 29th, 1903, seemed entirely made up ot 

 staghorn sumach seeds, being red and fuzzy. It contained 162 staghorn sumach 

 seeds 28 seeds of bayberries, and 4 fragments of Litorina shells. 



A pellet found on May nth, 1903, contained bones and hair of a small 

 mammal, 18 bayberry seeds, 3 large unidentified seeds, and a good-sized pebble. 

 Another pellet contained legs of a rock crab as well as seeds. On May 3d, 

 1903 a pellet was found containing 17 gastropod opercula. Another contained 

 bones and skin of a frog and 26 bayberry seeds. Another was made up almost 

 entirely of crushed and broken remains of large June beetles, with one shell ot 

 M lineatiis. Pellets like the last are not uncommon in July and August. 



On May 24th, 1903, a pellet was found that contained several entire cran- 

 berries At this season of the year the edges of the flooded cranberry bogs 

 are fringed with last year's cranberries floating up onto the sand. Another 

 pellet contained fish bones and scales, a few bayberry seeds, some small marsh 

 gastropods, and frog bones -a delightfully varied diet. There are very few 

 pellets that do not contain bayberry seeds and at least one specimen of Melani- 

 pus lineatus. On June 4th, 1903, a pellet was found containing a few oats, frog 

 bones and some brilliant green beetles. Another pellet, found in June, consisted 

 entirely of cherry stones, and one in September of grape seeds with the excep- 

 tion of one small mollusc. 



Crows are often to be seen devouring fish or other carrion thrown up on the 

 oeach A Black-bellied Plover shot by my brother and left where it fell on a 

 sand spit at Ipswich, while he went after others, was found on his return, half an 

 hour later, to be picked nearly clean of flesh by four Crows. The sand dunes 

 and the rocks and fields all along the coast are sown with crabs, clams, sea 

 urchins, sea snails, whelks, mussels, and razor shells. Many of these are 

 brought by Herring Gulls, but as many more probably by the Crows who carry 

 them back from the shore. Both of these birds may be seen dropping their 

 prey from a height in order to break the shells on the hard surface of the 



^'""""in the sand as in snow, the tell-tale tracks show what has happened. Thus, 

 in late May, the shell of a Red-winged Blackbird's egg and Crow tracks on the 

 bare sand easily explained the enmity of the Blackbird towards the Crow. The 

 Red-wings nest in large numbers among the bogs of the sand dunes and are 

 frequently to be seen chasing the Crows away from their haunts. 



The Crow is either a saint or a sinner depending upon the point of view. 



