456 C OMM ON CR o w. 



.■ifter performing' some five minutes, both flew away. Another habit which I have observed 

 relative to the breeding of the Crows, is that sometimes three birds will be engaged in 

 l>uilding one nest and then all will remain al^out it until the eggs are hatched. I have 

 noted this upon several occasions during diiTerent years, l)ut of what sex the odd bird was 

 I am unable to say, yet as T have found the usual number of eggs in the nest upon two 

 oecasions, judge that it is either a, barren female or a, male. 



In winter tlie Cmws cimie down from the north in countless nundiers and frequent 

 the seashore in small lloeks. At this season they subsist on animal and other edible food 

 thrown up by the tide, but during the severest weather, when the earth is covered witlv 

 snow :ind the creeks, rivers, and bays are ice-bound, they undergo many hardships. I 

 have frequently seen them with both feet frozen so stiff tha,t they were unable to walk, and 

 in Ibis condition tliey were endenvoring to procure food from the margin of the ice where 

 the water which daslied over them with every wave froze almost as soon as it struck, an.l 

 their tails and wings became (dogged with ice. It seems strange that these birds will re- 

 main in such an inhospitable region whore they must suffer greatly, when a few hours' 

 flight would can-y them to much warmer quarters. It is noticeable, however, that a largo 

 ijuantity of the Crows do migrate just before storms, returning in milder weather. The 

 few that remain more in the interior of the country fare better, for they have thick woods 

 to which they can retreat and, as they are of a provident disposition, they lay up stores 

 of corn, ac(n-ns, etc. which they hide in holes of trees or bury in the ground. It is inter- 

 esting to watch a Crow when he is endeavoring to find one of these caches. He will fly 

 a,cr()ss a snow-covered field wdiere he has made his deposit and, after taking a turn or two, 

 evidently misled a.t first by the changes which the weather has made, soon alights and con- 

 fidently proceeds to a small mouml, but a moment's scrutiny of this satisfies him. lie then 

 turns to another but with no better success, next he pauses an instant to take a better sur- 

 vey and to refresh his memory, when he hiqis liriskly a, few yards, gives two or three strokes 

 with his powerful be:ik, and unearths his treasure. It is also observable that he is silent 

 until ho has completed the discovery and devoured his lunch, then he gives a few trium- 

 phant caws as ho flies sl-)wly a,way. 



The Crows fiirni a self-constituted police force, being constantly on the lookout fiir 

 ofi'enders, and when an Owl or Hawk appears within the bounds of their jurisdiction, some 

 will give chase, s.r.mling tlie peculiar notes which call others, until the unfortunate intrud- 

 er is surrounded by a mob, all of vfhom vociferate loudly. They will not desist until the 

 object of their alarm has taken its departure or hidden itself. Besides these gatherings, 

 the reason for which is obvious, the Crows often assemble for no apparent object. They 

 will occasionally gather in large numbers, generally selecting a iew scattering trees which 

 stand in an open couatry as a place of rendezvous, but I can give no plausible reason for 

 these assemblies. They are,however, of not unusual occurrence in the autumn. I do not 

 think that the Crows of Massachusetts or south of this point are migratory, but judge that 

 the large numbers of these birds which frequent the coast all winter, come from the far 

 north, for they are lai-ger in size and less suspicious than the natives, as if unaccustomed 

 io being disturbed. 



