CORVUS THE CROW 



By Edward Howe Forbush 



state Ornithologist of Massachusetts 



AFTER all, much as we may dislike to admit it, the 

 abused and anathematized Crow is the great Ameri- 

 can bird. Who sees the American Eagk, and who does 

 not see or hear the Crow? We may find him in the prime- 

 val forest or in the heart of the city. In Boston he builds 

 his nest on a street tree in the Back Bay and feeds his 

 young with eggs and fledglings from the nests of pigeons 

 on the State House. You may even see him perched on 

 the gilded dome, cawing raucously to his beloved mate. 



Photograph by Arthur A. Alien 



THE HUNGRY HORDE 



Young Crows are nearly always hungry. Their stomachs re- 

 semble a bottomless pit. 



'Tis true the Crow has a bad name, and not without 

 reason. To begin with he is black, and that is held 

 against him, although he may not be so black as he is 

 painted. Then he is too smart. As Dr. Cobb says, he 

 knows how to keep out of the way of many a blunderer 

 with a gun, and he is very likely to commit some abomi- 

 nable mischief in the back yard early in the morning 

 before we are up. It irritates us to have this disreputable 

 fowl take such a mean advantage of us, esp>ecially as we 

 know that it would not have happened had we been up 

 betimes. The creature is unpopular because he exposes 

 our delinquencies. Then again, according to our stan- 

 dards, he is a thief, for he will take anything edible that 



he can get his bill or claws on. He immediately reduces 

 it to possession, making it his own, without regard to 

 any prior claim of ownership on our part, and it is ex- 

 tremely difficult to arrest such a cautious and elusive 

 culprit. When it comes to sterner measures, he takes 

 good care of his precious skin. But the Crow has his 

 uses. He destroys many a pest, including the destruc- 

 tive gypsy moth, and, like the red fox, he will be with 

 us always, or so long as any predatory wild creature 

 can survive under the inimical influences of civilization. 

 The Crow take a prominent part in maintaining ths 

 balance of nature. He feeds on the eggs and young of 

 song birds, and even on the parents when he can catch 

 one, but he also destroys mice the enemies of song birds. 

 He eats white grubs and cutworms and other insect ene- 

 mies of our crops, but he also takes a part of some of 

 these same crops, and eats some of the other birds that 



Photograph by Cordelia J. Stanwood 



THE PIRATE 



A young Crow just starting out on his piratical career. His 

 shining black coat is the flag he flies. 



feed on cutworms, grubs and other crop enemies. If we 

 pursue this subject farther we shall find that it will read 

 a good deal like the story of "The House that Jack 

 Built." 



Robins and Crows feed on many of the saine insects, 



