1 74 Birds of Oregon and Washington 



observing farmer's boy in Oregon relates how 

 quickly the Crows discovered that a dog follow- 

 ing the plow would kill and bury field-mice. 

 The knowing birds would proceed at once to dig 

 up these bits for their own hungry stomachs. 



It is hard to decide just what to do with the 

 Crow. He is not only extremely interesting on 

 account of his sagacity, but he is also a beauti- 

 ful bird, with his black iridescent plumage and 

 clean, strong body and bearing, and his " Caw, 

 caw," on a winter's day has a charm for the 

 Nature or bird-lover. He is even more than 

 this. He is one of the best friends of the far- 

 mer in destroying mice, also beetles and other 

 injurious insects. If it were only the temporary 

 harm that he does to crops and young chickens, 

 he would have so large a balance to his credit 

 that no intelligent agriculturist could afford to 

 destroy him. But his great, and perhaps his un- 

 pardonable, sin is that he destroys so many eggs 

 and young of the smaller song and insectivorous 

 birds that, if his tribe is numerous in any locality, 

 a considerable reduction of it is undoubtedly ne- 

 cessary. But in all of this family who live in 

 spite of us, or by our consent, let us keep ever 



