CROW. 



CROW. 



civilized countries, and, with the wolves, 

 panthers, and foxes, a price is put upon his 

 head. In consequence, various means of en- 

 snaring the outlaw have been had recourse 

 to. Of the gun he is extremely cautious, and 

 suspects its appearance at the first glance, per- 

 ceiving with ready sagacity the wily manner 

 of the fowler. So fearful and suspicious are 

 they of human artifices, that a mere line 

 stretched round a field is often found sufficient 

 to deter these wily birds from a visit to the 

 corn-field. Against poison he is" not so guard- 

 ed, and sometimes corn steeped in hellebore is 

 given him, which creates giddiness and death. 

 According to Buffon, pieces of paper in the 

 form of a hollow cone, smeared inside with 

 bird-lime, and containing bits of raw meat, 

 have been employed. In attempting to gain 

 the bait, the dupe becomes instantly hood- 

 winked, and, as the safest course out of the 

 way of danger, the crow flies directly upwards 

 to a great height, but becoming fatigued with 

 the exertion, he generally descends pretty near 

 to the place from which he started, and is then 

 easily taken. 



"Another curious method, related by the 

 same author, is that of pinning a live crow to 

 the ground by the wings, stretched out on his 

 back, and retained in this posture by two sharp, 

 forked sticks. In this situation, his loud cries 

 attract other crows, who come -sweeping down 

 to the prostrate prisoner, and are grappled in 

 his claws. In this way each successive prisoner 

 may be made the innocent means of capturing 

 his companion. The reeds in which they roost, 

 when dry enough, are sometimes set on fire 

 also to procure their destruction ; and, to add 

 to the fatality produced by the flames, gunners 

 are also stationed round to destroy those that 

 attempt to escape by flight. In severe winters 

 they suffer occasionally from famine and cold, 

 and fall sometimes dead in the fields. Accord- 

 ing to Wilson, in one of these severe seasons, 

 more than six hundred crows were shot on the 

 carcass of a dead horse, which was placed at 

 a proper shooting distance from a stable. The 

 premiums obtained for these, and the price 

 procured for the quills, produced to the farmer 

 nearly the value of the horse when living, 

 besides affording feathers sufficient to fill a bed ! 



" The crow is easily raised and domesticated, 

 and soon learns to distinguish the different 

 members of the family with which he is asso- 

 ciated. He screams at the approach of a 

 stranger; learns to open the door by alighting 

 on the latch ; attends regularly at meal times ; 

 is very noisy and loquacious; imitates the 

 sound of various words which he hears*; is 

 very thievish, given to hiding curiosities in 

 holes and crevices, and is very fond of carry- 

 ing off pieces of metal, corn, bread, and food 

 of all kinds ; he is also particularly attached 

 to the society of his master, and recollects him 

 sometimes after a long absence. 



"It is commonly believed and asserted in 

 some parts of this country, that the crows en- 

 gage at times in general combat; but it has 

 never been ascertained whether this hostility 

 arises from civil discord, or the opposition of 

 two different species, contesting for some ex- 

 clusive privilege of subsi sling-ground. It is 



! well known that rooks often contend with each 

 other, and drive away, by every persecuting 

 means, individuals who arrive among them 

 from any other rookery. 



" The crow is much smaller than the raven, 



! and is of a deep black with violet reflections. 



The bill and feet are also black. The iris 



i hazel. (The European bird is twenty inches, 



or nearly, and has the feathers of the neck 



narrow and distinct.)" 



Soaking seed-corn for 24 or 48 hours in a 

 strong solution of glauber's salts, is said to 

 effectually prevent crows, black-birds, and 

 squirrels from pulling up the grain. 



Wilson was the first ornithologist who dis- 

 covered an American species differing from 

 the common crow, and which he called the 

 fish crow (corvus ossifragus"). It is' met with 

 along the coast of the Southern States and as 

 high up as New Jersey. It keeps apart from the 

 common species, from which, however, it dif- 

 fers but slightly in appearance, being about 

 16 inches in length whilst the common crow 

 measures about 18 inches. Instead of as- 

 sembling to roost among the reeds at night, it 

 retires, toward evening, from the shores which 

 afford it a subsistence, and perches in the 

 neighbouring woods. Its notes, probably va- 

 rious, are at times hoarse and guttural, at 

 others weaker and higher. They pass most part 

 of their time near rivers, hovering over the 

 stream to catch up dead and perhaps living 

 fish, or other animal matters which float with- 

 in their reach ; at these they dive with con- 

 siderable celerity, and seizing them in their 

 claws, convey them to an adjoining tree, and 

 devour the fruits of their predatory industry 

 at leisure. They also snatch up water lizards 

 in the same manner, and feed upon small crabs ; 

 at times they are seen even contending with the 

 gulls for their prey. It is amusing to see with 

 what steady watchfulness they hover over the 

 water in search of their precarious food, having, 

 in fact, all the traits of the gull; but they subsist 

 more on accidental supplies than by any re- 

 gular system of fishing. On land they have 

 sometimes all the familiarity of the magpie, 

 hopping upon the backs of cattle, in whose 

 company they, no doubt, occasionally meet 

 with a supply of insects when other sources 

 fail. They are also regular in their attendance 

 on the fishermen in New Jersey, for the pur- 

 pose of gleaning up the refuse of the fish. 

 They are less shy and suspicious than the 

 common crow, and, showing no inclination for 

 plundering the corn-fields, are rather friends 

 than enemies to the farmer. They appear 

 near Philadelphia, from the middle of March 

 to the beginning of June, during the season 

 of the shad and herring fishery. 



They breed in New Jersey in tall trees, hav- 

 ing nests and eggs very similar to those of the 

 preceding species, and rear a brood of four or 

 five young, with whom they are seen in com- 

 pany in the month of July. 



This species bears some resemblance to the 

 rook in general appearance, and by the bare 

 space near the bill, but it is smaller, longer 

 tailed, and wholly different in its habits and 

 mode of living. 



The Hooded Crow {Corvu* cornix) resembles 



367 



