430 Hunt, Change of Location of a Crow Roost. Loet. 



tinuous racket; possibly discussing the adventures the day had 

 brought forth, at any rate they were advertising the whereabouts 

 of their roosting spot to both friend and foe for a mile around. 



As the sun sank in the west it seemed as if the whole top of the 

 woods arose into the air — one immense flock of thousands and 

 thousands of crows circled round and again settled in the trees. 



Now they became more quiet, but it seemed that for some husky 

 individuals sleep was out of the question, as a great many still per- 

 sisted in making a noise. 



When they had become comparatively quiet, we entered the 

 woods. In the moonlight the leaf strewn ground, spotted all over 

 with the white excrement, took on a ghostly aspect. Our progress 

 was not very noiseless — we had to fight our way through the under- 

 brush and pause now and then to untangle ourselves from a too 

 friendly strand of green brier. As we startled the crows in the trees 

 directly over us they would fly further into the woods. 



When thus startled suddenly from their perches the birds seemed 

 more or less bewildered and unable to see distinctly. We saw one 

 crow which apparently flew against a limb, for after starting up he 

 fell back and caught himself with an effort on a lower branch where 

 he sat apparently dazed, and it was a minute or more before he was 

 able again to take wing. 



When well within the woods we shouted and the air became filled 

 with a roar like thunder as the birds in the trees about us took wing 

 and flew deeper into the woods. Then we left them but when well 

 on our way to Merchantville we could still hear a few discordant 

 'caws' — possibly blessings called down on us for having dis- 

 turbed their slumbers. 



We described this homeward coming of the crows to a friend — 

 how they came and came, thousands and thousands of them; how 

 the ground was black with crows, etc., and he became greatly 

 interested and wanted to see it himself; so we agreed to take him 

 to the roost. It was on the evening of March 4 that we made the 

 pilgrimage, and took him over the route followed by us a month 

 before. When we reached the woodland there was not a crow to be 

 seen. On the way we saw flight lines, which fact had somewhat 

 puzzled me; but here in the woods, where a month before had been 

 thousands, there was not a crow to be seen or heard. Even the 



