276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



crows soon learn the-siirnificance of the sound of a oun, and 

 the shooting of a few of their number by gunners will render 

 the rest more wary. In the east crows have learned by as- 

 sociation and experience to beware of the approach of man, 

 and are considered as among the most difficult of all birds to 

 approach. This wariness is only overcome by the pangs of 

 hunger. In winter, when the snow lies deep on the ground 

 and food is scarce, crows will become quite fearless in their 

 approach to carrion. As a rule, however, crows when feed- 

 ing keep one or more sentinels posted on some high tree or 

 other point of vantage, to warn all within hearing of the ap- 

 ])roach of any possil)le enemy, and the warning of a sentinel 

 is understood and heeded by all crows in the vicinity. 



The intelligence of crows, like that of men, varies with 

 individuals. Young birds, who when they first leave the 

 nest are rather incautious, soon acquire the habits of caution 

 taught them by experience and the warning cries of their 

 elders. 



All farmers know how difficult it is to entrap crows. In- 

 deed, they are so suspicious of a trap that any contrivance 

 which to their eyes resembles a trap will sometimes keep 

 them away from corn. , 



Migration. 



The crow as a species is a resident in this Commonwealth 

 throughout the entire year. It is, however, quite migratory 

 in its habits. There are times of general migration toward 

 the south in the fall and toward the north again in the spring. 

 During the fall and winter migrations thousands of crows 

 may be seen trooping south or in the direction of the sea- 

 coasts and river valleys. It is probable that the crows that 

 remain with us in winter are migrants from lands farther 

 north. The crows appear to desert entirely some of the 

 more northern and western portions of the State during the 

 season of the greatest cold and snow. Mr. C. E. Bailey 

 reports that in ordinary seasons crows leave the vicinity of 

 Winchendon, Mass., which is near the New Hampshire line, 

 but that they are often found farther south in Hubbardston 

 and Princeton. 



Mr. A. H. Kirkland writes that, from observations cover- 



