MASON AND LEFROY. 35 



anything they can, especially bright objects. They will also rob 

 food of all descriptions from the kitchen, meat, bread, flour, &c., 

 even taking dog's food, and often another crow's. " Crows steal 

 food of animals in public garden, Trevandrum, no matter whether 

 fish, flesh or fruit, all the same to this insatiable robber." (B. N. 

 H. S. J., XV, 225). 



Crows eat a great variety of fruits : Banyan, pipal, and Ficus 

 of all kinds. " They are always the first to attack a ripening mul- 

 berry or cherry tree." (Dewar. I. C., 17). They are very fond of 

 wild mulberries and eat large quantities of this fruit both picking 

 them from the tree or when fallen. They are particularly fond of 

 the large red flowers of the silk cotton tree (Bombax malabaricum) 

 and I have several times seen crows eating the fruit of Cephalandra 

 indica (a wild cucurbitaceous plant). At Panimangalore in Madras 

 I noticed crows attacking jack fruit. This is unusual. Crows do 

 no harm to orchards. 



Crows are said to be particularly fond of the young and eggs 

 of other birds. ' Sparrows are the favourites ' (Dewar, I. C., 16), 

 more than other birds, but this I believe due to the fact that such 

 birds are commoner than other birds in towns and localities fre- 

 quented by crows and are therefore more readily obtained. ' They 

 also take Bulbuls ' (Dewar, I. C., 17). Crows rifle a nest of Nuci- 

 fraga hemispila (B. N. H. S. J., XVII, 817) and no doubt do the 

 same to any nest when they get the chance. I have seen a nest of 

 Crateropus canorus robbed of its eggs. 



A great variety of seeds is eaten by crows and at times they 

 do a great deal of damage to crops. As soon as a crop such as wheat 

 or oats begins to ripen the crow breaks down a plant or pulls the head 

 to the ground, if he cannot get at the seed, and then extracts the 

 grain. In the case of maize, sorghum, &c., the crows perch on the 

 plant and pick out the grain. If the crop is stocked before being 

 carried, crows are then more obvious on the crop than at any other 

 time : they sit on the stooks and feed entirely on the grain, just as 

 the rook, C. frugilegus, does in England, &c. Crows damage maize 



