234 THE AXGLKK AND HUXTSMAX 



During the first several weeks of their life, the young of 

 game birds and of perching birds are fed on animal food, 

 chiefly in the form of insects, and each will consume daily 

 an amount equal to its own weight. 



A young crow while on the nest will consume an amount 

 of food equal to three or four times its own weight, and only 

 a small part of this food consists of insects. Most of it is 

 made up of eggs or the young of other birds which, if left 

 alive, would be of benefit in the protection of crops. 



In addition to the harm done in destroying useful birds, 

 crows spread contagious and infective disease. 



Crow shooting forms a fascinating and useful sport, 

 and is one we can engage in without the danger of being 

 called a "game hog," for the more of them we kill, the 

 greater our service to other game life. 



What can be accomplished when the sport is properly 

 organized is illustrated by the activities of the "Crow Shoot- 

 ers and Would-be Crow Shooters" of Canton, South Dakota. 

 Each year they hold a crow hunt. In the last two hunts a 

 total of 158 shooters participated and a total of 516 crows 

 were killed. 



The Flight of Game Birds: 



While there is a good deal of variation in the speed ot 

 flight of game birds, the table given below may be taken as 

 a most accurate approximation of the comparative speed at 

 which the better known wild birds fly. 



The crow may be taken as an example of the slower fly- 

 ing birds, which travel at a rate of 35 to 55 feet per second, 

 with an average speed of 45 miles per hour, while many 

 species of hawks attain a remarkable speed, some going as 

 fast as 200 feet a second. 



