29 



watched, guarded, admonished and taught by both parents, and the 

 family remains together as long as the young require any attention. 



Digestive Capacity of the Crow. 



To obtain a definite understanding of the amount of good or 

 harm the crow is capable of doing, it is essential to know what 

 amount of food it is obliged to consume in order to maintain its 

 strength. Mr. E. A. Samuels says that he has kept specimens in 

 captivity, and has, by actual observation, proved that at least eight 

 ounces of animal food, such as frogs, fish, etc., are eaten daily by 

 them.* 



To determine how much food the fledged young require, the 

 writer had two young crows confined in a large pen or cage. These 

 crows were kept and fed until September 2, when one was acci- 

 dentally killed. The other was kept until September 14. These 

 crows were fed animal and vegetable food in about equal propor- 

 tions, and the amount of each eaten by them was surprising. 

 Either appeared to be eaten with nearly equal avidity, although at 

 times a distinct preference was shown for animal food. The ani- 

 mal food consisted of the larger insects, such as grasshoppers, 

 crickets, borers and beetles ; also of snakes, frogs, mice and meat. 

 The vegetable food consisted largely of tomatoes and green corn. 

 It soon became evident that the crows were not being fed suffi- 

 ciently, as they did not thrive. 



From August 21 until their death the crows were each weighed 

 dail}', and the food given to them was also weighed. On Septem- 

 ber 2 they were each weighed, the larger weighing sixteen and one- 

 half ounces and the smaller fifteen ounces. When fed less than 

 eight ounces each they either did not increase in weight or fell 

 off, and it was not until each crow was fed ten or more ounces 

 that their weight increased. If the amount given the crows was 

 largely reduced during any one day there was a corresponding fall- 

 ing off in the weight of the bird. On September 13 the larger 

 crow weighed eighteen and one-half ounces. On that day it was 

 given only two ounces of tomato, fifty-six grasshoppers, twelve 

 crickets and a little grain, in all some three ounces of food. The 

 next morning it had lost one and one-half ounces in weight. 



As a preliminary to the solution of some of the problems which 

 come up during stomach examinations, a knowledge of the processes 

 of digestion and their possibilities in the species under considera- 

 tion is indispensable. 



* E. A. Samuels, " Birds of New England," page 359. 



