American Crow 



155 



and there, in this bulky cradle, almost as 

 bulky as a squirrel's nest, they raise their fam- 

 ily. Young crows may be easily tamed and they 

 make interesting, but very mischievous pets. 

 It is only when crows are nesting that they 

 give up their social, flocking habit. 



In winter, if the fields be lean, large pictur- 

 esque flocks may be seen at dawn streaking 

 across the sky to distant beaches where they 

 feed on worms, refuse and small shellfish. 

 More than one crow has been watched, rising 

 in the air with a clam or a mussel in his claws, 

 dropping it on a rock, then falling after it, as 

 soon as the shell is smashed, to feast upon its 

 contents. The fish crow, a distinct species, 

 never foimd far inland, although not neces- 

 sarily seen near water, may be distinguished 

 from our common crow by its hoarser car. In 

 some cases it joins its cousins on the beaches. 

 With punctual regularity at sundown, the flocks 

 straggle back inland to go to sleep, sometimes 

 thousands of crows together in a single roost. 

 Many birds have more regular meal hours and 

 bed-time than some children seem to care for. 

 Because crows eat almost anything they can 

 find, and pick up a good living where other 

 birds, more finical or less clever, would starve, 

 they rarely need to migrate; but they are great 

 rovers. There is not a day in the year when 

 you could not find a crow. 



