286 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



The Rusty Grakle, Quiscalus ferrugineus, is much more 

 common than the former in the western part of the state. On 

 their way to the north, they are in haste, having an immense 

 distance to travel ; on their return, they are more deUberate, 

 and are seen in the field in large flocks, keeping company with 

 the cattle. Neither this nor the former rears its young in this 

 state. 



The American Crow, Corvus Americamis, persecuted as it 

 has been for years, still abounds in Massachusetts, as is testi- 

 fied by the scare crows and other ornamental devices, that 

 embellish our fields in the spring. It is not to be supposed 

 that the sagacious crow mistakes for living beings these pro- 

 ductions of the statuary's art ; but he easily understands what 

 they are meant for, and makes his depredations in a less public 

 manner than he might otherwise do. His suspicions are al- 

 ways awake, and he exerts a caution, which has given rise to 

 the imagination that he can smell powder ; but this, though a 

 common belief, implies a delicacy of sense and a knowledge 

 of cause and efl'ect, quite beyond the compass even of the 

 crow. His bearing in a domesticated state contrasts power- 

 fully Avith his shyness when wild ; he becomes familiar and 

 easy, talks loudly and incessantly, steals and secretes whatever 

 he perceives is valued, opens the door by treading on the latch, 

 and plays a great variety of tricks, some of them laughable, 

 others very annoying. In his wild state, he exerts all this 

 shrewdness in the work of procuring a subsistence. His art 

 is so perfect, that he can, by inserting his bill in the egg of 

 the largest bird, carry it away from the nest to be eaten at his 

 leisure. In this manner, he will bear away, one after another 

 all the eggs in the nest of a Avild turkey. His cunning does 

 not arise from want of courage, for he may sometimes be seen 

 chasing a hawk or an eagle, which, pressed by numbers, is 

 compelled to sound a retreat. In this way he often officiates 

 as a guardian of the domestic poultry. 



The crow feeds on almost every thing eatable, Avithout 

 choice or delicacy iii the selection. It devours fruits, vegeta- 



