Birds of Pennsylvania. 161 



in diameter and 10 inches in depth, is made up of sticks, twigs, bark, 

 leaves, etc. It is built usually in an oak, chestnut or other tree, in an 

 unfrequented woods ; nests are sometimes placed in low trees or 

 bushes in cedar thickets. The eggs vary greatly in size and color ; 

 four to six in number; length about 1.65 by 1.19 inches in width; 

 light-greenish, spotted-brown and black with purplish tints. The 

 note of this w^ell- known bird is a loud, harsh cdio. During the early 

 spring, fall and winter months this species is gregarious ; flocks num- 

 bering from fifty to several hundred individuals are frequently ob- 

 served scattered over the fields, meadows, along the highways, or in 

 the woods searching for food. At night these birds resort in great 

 numbers to favorite roosting-places, such as pine forests or cedar 

 thickets. In the late spring and summer Crows are particularly de- 

 structive to young poultry, the eggs and young of small birds, and 

 frequently nests of the domestic fowls, especially Guineas and Tur- 

 keys that often wander to a considerable distance from the farm house 

 to lay, are also pillaged. These birds, as every farmer is well aware, 

 commit more or less mischief in the cornfields. 



Although the crow will rob the nest of any small bird which he can 

 ^et at, the nests of the Robin, Wood Thrush, Catbird and Dove are 

 the ones I have usually seen disturbed. The injury which the Crow 

 occasions by his egg-sucking, bird-devouring habit, is, it is affirmed 

 by eminent authorities, more than compensated for by the large num- 

 bers of noxious insects and mammals which he devours. Twelve of 

 these birds taken in winter and examined by me had in their stom- 

 achs only vegetable materials, viz : Corn, oats, acorns, small seeds 

 -and berries. From such limited investigations 1 am unable to say 

 usrhether the crow is a friend or an enemy to the farmer. 



Audubon, writing of the food-habits of this species, says: 



'* The crow devours myriads of grubs every day of the year, that 

 •might lay waste the farmers' fields ; it destroys quadrupeds innumer- 

 able, every one of which is an enemy to his poultry and his flocks. 

 Why then should the farmer be so ungrateful, when he sees such ser- 

 vices rendered to him by a providential friend, as to persecute that 

 friend even to death ? 



" Omniverous like the raven, the crow feeds on fruits, seeds and vege- 

 tables of almost every kind ; it is equally fond of snakes, frogs, liz- 

 ards and other small reptiles ; it looks upon various species of worms, 

 grubs and insects as dainties, and if hard pressed by hunger, it will 

 alight upon and devour even putrid carrion. It is as fond of the eggs 

 of other birds as is the Cuckoo, and, like the Titmouse, it will, during a 

 paroxysm of anger, break in the skull of a weak or wounded bird. 

 * * * The most remarkable feat of the Crow is the nicety with 

 which it, like the Jay, pierces an egg with its bill in order to carry it 

 11 Birds. 



