602 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



birds until I arrived on the scene and stopped their ne- 

 farious operations. This is almost the only instance 

 on record of Crows nesting on the ground. The reason 

 for such nesting in this case was plain. 



Crows are clannish creatures. They will help each 

 other, but that is as far as their altruism extends. To 

 the rest of the world they are Ishmaelites. Every man's 

 hand is against them, and many wild creatures seem to 

 fear them, but they arc kind to each other. Not long ago 

 a Crow, perhaps too enthusiastic in his fishing, fell into 

 the Merrimack River. His plumage was soon soaked, 

 and he was carried along in the flood, unable to rise from 

 the chilling waters, but his cries brought assistance. A 

 flock gathered cawing overhead. Suddenly one flapped 

 down to the surface, seized the drowning comrade and 

 laboriously bore him a short distance toward the shore. 

 As the strength of the first rescuer failed, the soggy bird 

 was relinquished to another, and so one after another 

 seized and carried landward their unfortunate comrade 

 until he reached the shore. There he spread out his 

 soaked pinions in a sunny spot and dried them, when all 

 flew happily away to the woods. How rarely does 

 similarly effective and speedy human aid reach a drown- 

 ing person. The well-known propensity of the Crow to 

 come to the aid of a stricken comrade seems to be recog- 

 nized by Eagles, Hawks and Owls, and so active, healthy 

 Crows rarely are attacked, even by Owls, except at night, 



Photograph by Arthur A. Allen 



THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE 



In winter the crows take what they can get. Nothing edible 

 comes amiss during thi^ lean season. 



when sight seems to fail them and they cannot combine 

 in defense. Crows in winter gather from far and near to 

 roost at night in some favorite wood. Such roosting 

 places sometimes are visited by many thousands. In the 

 darkness of night the Horned Owl comes to these roosts 

 and takes his pick of the slumbering inmates. Noiselessly 

 he swoops and strikes, there is a brief chorus of startled 

 caws, and the great Owl bears his bloody victim to some 



snowbank and picks its bones. Its companions then are 

 helpless to avenge its fall, but woe to that midnight 

 assassin if they catch him out after daylight. His cue 

 now is to hunt some deep, dark cavity in a hollow tree 

 and "pull the hole in after him," else those Crows may 

 make life miserable for him for the rest of the day. They 

 will surround and envelop him in harsh and almost in- 

 cessant clamor. Hundreds of his noisy bodyguard will 

 escort him wherever he goes, and some of the bolder ones 

 may even come to blows with him. There is no more 

 sleep for the evil one that day unless he can find some 

 secure hiding place. 



Crows do not hesitate when in numbers to attack the 

 boldest Hawks, and even the lordly Eagle is persecuted 



Photograph by Arthur A. .\llen 



A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE 



The first sign of food on the newly fallen snow attracts a 

 hungry flock of shiny, black crows. 



l)y them. Sometimes, however, a lone Crow, becoming 

 unduly impudent, attacks a Hawk single-handed, and 

 right there he makes a great mistake. Once I saw a 

 Crow badgering a little Sharp-shinned Hawk. The 

 Hawk fled for a short distance, then turned on the Crow, 

 and that Crow was fortunate to escape. Crows will mob 

 and follow a fox for hours, giving him no peace, until 

 at last, tired of "fuss and feathers," he retires to some 

 secluded retreat. Mobs of Crows sometimes attack and 

 kill birds or animals too large for a single Crow to cope 

 with. Thus full-grown rabbits, grouse and pheasants 

 are sometimes killed. 



A wounded or dead Crow often becomes the focus for 

 a gathering of all the Crows in the immediate region. 

 T the Crow wake they come from near and far in noisy 

 convocation, and after a long time, having made noise 

 enough to "wake the dead," they disperse more or less 

 quietly. 



When the fall migrations begin there are certain gath- 

 ering places where thousands come together in noisy 

 conclave. The farmers call these gatherings Crow con- 

 ventions. "Cawcusses" would be a more descriptive word. 

 (Continued on Page 612) 



