THE NORTHWEST CROW. ie hehe ie 
behind her as fast as she shooed them away in front—came within two or 
three feet of her, too, and made playful dashes at her chubby legs. But 
might I be permitted to photograph the scene at, say, fifty yards? Mit 
nichten! Arragh! ‘To your tents, O Israel! 
In so far as this Crow consents to perform the office of scavenger, he 
is a useful member of society. Nor is his consumption of shell-fish a serious 
matter. But when we come to consider the quality and extent of his 
depredations upon colonies of nesting sea-birds, we find that he merits 
unqualified condemnation. For instance, two of us bird-men once visited 
the west nesting of Baird Cormorants on Flattop, to obtain photographs. 
As we retired down the cliff, I picked up a broken shell of a Cormorant’s 
egg, from which the white, or plasma, was still dripping. As we pulled 
away from the foot of the cliff a Crow flashed into view, lighted on the 
edge of a Shag’s nest, seized an egg, and bore it off rapidly into the woods 
above, where the clamor of expectant young soon told of the disposition 
that was being made of it. Immediately the marauder was back again, 
seized the other egg, and was off as before. All this, mind you, in a trice, 
before we were sufficiently out of range for the Cormorants to reach their 
nests again, altho they were hastening toward them. Back came the Crow, 
but the first nest was exhausted; the second had nothing in it; the Shags 
were on the remainder; moments were precious—he made a dive at a 
Gull’s nest, but the Gulls made a dive at him; and they too hastened to 
their eggs. 
Subsequent investigation discovered rifled egg-shells all over the island, 
and it was an easy matter to pick up a hatful for evidence. As he is at Flattop, 
so he is everywhere, an indefatigable robber of birds’ nests, a sneaking, 
thieving, hated, black marauder. It is my deliberate conviction that the 
successful rearing of a nestful of young Crows costs the lives of a hundred 
sea-birds. The Baird Cormorant is, doubtless, the heaviest loser; and she 
appears to have no means of redress after the mischief is done, save to lay 
more eggs,—more eggs to feed more Crows, to steal more eggs, etc. 
