2?0 Davis, Croivs and their Roosts. I )u l '| v 



of the Crows that were walking together on the beach flew in 

 opposite directions as the afternoon wore away, and roosted in 

 widely separated parts of New Jersey. 



The Rev. Samuel Lockwood, writing of the evergreen groves 

 on Sandy Hook, in the 'American Naturalist' for August, 1S92, 

 says: "Here are rookeries of crows which almost blacken 

 the air as they return in the evening from their daily foraging." 

 As far as my observation extends it is only in very cold weather 

 that they continue their flight to Staten Island and its store of food 

 on the South Beach. 



In spring the Crows return to the island to roost, and 

 mostly fly at evening in two directions, namely, toward Old 

 Place on the North Shore, and toward the woods at Annadale. 

 Of course many build nests and live for a time apart, but as early 

 as April and May, flocks of Crows that have no family cares 

 may be seen at evening about these warm weather roosts and as 

 the season advances the numbers are greatly increased. 



At Old Place there is a long ridge of slightly elevated land in 

 the salt meadow, on which stands a thick growth of deciduous 

 trees, and it is in these and in the immediate vicinity that the 

 Crows have the smaller of their warm weather roosts. I have 

 seen them congregate at this place in the late afternoons every 

 summer since 1SS9, chiefly in a large, dead tree that towers 

 above the surrounding growth, which tree is also used by the 

 Bitterns that occupy the same woods during the day and sally 

 forth on their nightly fishing excursions about the time the Crows 

 come home to roost. 



The majority of the Crows that frequent the island in warm 

 weather may be seen flying in late afternoon toward the Anna- 

 dale woods. They come from the beach, and from all directions, 

 and congregate in the broad open fields near the woods where 

 they have had a warm weather roost for many years. On 

 August 6, 1S93, a flock, by count, of over three hundred Crows 

 had gathered in these fields, and many more were in the woods 

 near by, and others constantly arriving. At dusk the Crows in 

 the field flew to the woods. All of them did not roost in a few 

 trees close together, but were scattered about the vicinity in 

 small assemblages. 



On the 27th of November, 1S92, I found only a small flock of 

 about forty Crows remaining in the Annadale roost. At dusk 



