148 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Sticking his bill into the shell he may 

 be seen Hying Avith it across the tield. 

 piles of the shells may be found imder 

 their nests. Nests carefully hid away and 

 so escaping the eye of the good house 

 dame, are not infrequently found by 

 watching the black thief. The turkey's 

 nest, carefully bushed in some remote 

 paslure, can be detected in like manner. 

 Not only are young chickens carried 

 aAvay as delicate morsels, to be de- 

 voured along with eggs, by the young 

 in the nest, but the Crow will alight on 

 the back of alaige hen, peck out her 

 brain, strip off the skin and devour the 

 inside— entrails, etc. If driven away 

 he will return to his repast, and finally 

 consume the Avhole. 



The terrapin. or box-turtle, strictly a 

 dry-land reptile and very common in 

 the state of Maryland and southward, 

 is a very useful insectiverous feeder. 

 This delicate piece of flesh the CroAv 

 has learned to appreciate, and pecking 

 a hole in the back, cleans out the shell, 

 leaving not even the blood nor liga- 

 ments fastening the body to the neatly 

 closed house. 



An item of mischief not commonly 

 knoAvn, is the feeding of this species on 

 the berries of poisonous vines and 

 shrubs in winter,— the poison ivy and 

 poison sumac for instance, thus dissem- 

 inating these noxious groAvths along the 

 fences and about the swamps and pas- 

 tures. This has been well brought out 

 by the Agricultural Department in its 

 late reports. 



It is now time to inquire as to the 

 good to be set doAvn to the Crow's 

 credit, over against all the above cate- 

 gory of evil-doing. 



Beyond question the CroAV is some- 

 Avhat insectiverous. Visiting the newly 

 mown fields. Avhile the hay is yet dry- 

 ing, they will give chase to the myriads 

 of grasshoppers abroad at such times, 

 and literally till themselves. They also 

 hunt the ground Avhere hay and straw- 

 stacks have been removed, and where 



the muck Avoim [L*achnoslomaJusca} 

 eventuating in the Avell knoAvn June- 

 bug, and very destructive to the roots 

 of certain garden and fruit products, is 

 abundant. These they capture Avith- 

 great relish, also; folloAving the plow 

 Avhich turns these grubs up in rich, 

 ground. A certain yjroportiou of bee- 

 tles are also found in his stomach. 



Those Avho examine the Crows in 

 winter, cannot fail to be impressed Avith 

 their scanty bill of fare. One finds cer- 

 tain poisonous seeds, as aboA'e noted, a 

 feAv seeds of the^Avild grape, refuse of 

 street droppings, and frequentlj' noth- 

 ing at all. One is led to feel that the 

 Avinter is mainly a long fast, in Avhich 

 the Crows Avhich gyrate aboiit the- 

 lields and the pines, must draAv upon 

 the flesh stored during the moie jjro- 

 pitious part of the year. 



We must not omit to give the CroAV 

 his due as a carrion feeder, thus help- 

 ing out the Turkey Buzzard in the 

 more southerly regions of our country. 



Careful students will discover that it 

 is very difficult to make out a case in 

 our big blackbii'd's favor. While we 

 Avould not annihilate them, there can 

 be little doubt that Ave have very many 

 more of his kind than avc need. 



J. tl. Langille. 



A Disastrous Season on Pelican If [and - 



It was Avith great pleasure that I read 

 Dr. Gibb's excellent article regai'ding 

 the Brown Pelican in Florida, and else- 

 Avhere, Avith a description of a visit to 

 Pelican Island on Indian River in the 

 March issue of Oologist.' I Avas so 

 much interested in the^subject in ques- 

 tion that I cannot-resist the temptation 

 of sending you a few notes on my visit 

 to the Island Avhere I found things in a. 

 peculiarly unsatisfactory state, to my- 

 self at least, for I had expected a tine 

 opportunity of studying their nesting 

 habits, and I think that I may rightly 

 say that the birds themselves fully ap- 



