280 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Mr. F. A. Bates mentions a similar instance. The eofffs 

 vary in number from three or four to seven, and in color 

 from a light, unspotted green or greenish blue to a darker 

 hue, thicklj^ covered with heav}^ brown and dusky spots. 

 There is a great variation also in the size of the eg^Qs. 

 Pro])ably only one brood is usually reared, but if the first 

 nest is destroyed, the crow will build another, and where 

 this is repeated, young fledgling crows are sometimes seen 

 early in August. 



The situation of the nest varies according to locality. 

 When the nests and eggs are destroyed by man the crow 

 soon learns to nest high. The tree chosen is usually a 

 large conifer, the white pine being a favorite. Where the 

 crow is not molested it will sometimes nest within a few 

 feet of the ground. Mr. Bailey mentions having found 

 nests at the height of seven or eight feet from the ground, 

 on hemlocks, close to the trunks of the trees. 



The outcry raised ])y the mother crow when an enemy 

 aY)proaches the nest is usually answered by two other crows, 

 and the writer has frequently seen three crows in the vicinity 

 of the nest. So far as his observation goes, this seems to 

 be the rule. Mr. F. H. Moslier says that in south-eastern 

 Massachusetts, where his observations were made, he has 

 always found three adult crows about each nest during both 

 the building of the nest and the rearing of the young. He 

 has frequently noticed this even when they were undisturbed. 

 During the building of the nest one would carry most of the 

 sticks and the others would follow back and forth with more 

 sticks. 



Mr. Bailey speaks of an instance where a pair of these 

 birds which were raising young were shot, and another crow 

 fed the young. The female was first shot on the edge of 

 the nest ; a few days later the male was shot at the same 

 place. Seven days later the young were alive and flourish- 

 ing, and a third crow was observed to feed them. These 

 young birds were finally reared. There is usually an excess 

 of male birds, and the presence of bachelor birds in the 

 vicinity of the nests may be oflered as an explanation of 

 these facts, or polygamy may be possible. This is a phase 

 of the crow's life history which it might be well for some 



