The American Crow 19 



The nest of the crow is built in all kinds of woodland, 

 dense and open, river valleys and hill-land. Often several nests 

 are found near each other, and when a stranger approaches 

 the community, the noise of the assembled multitude is almost 

 deafening until the intruder leaves. We have them nesting 

 at Buzzard's Roost in the densest of the woodland in the tops 

 of beech trees. The period of nesting varies from February to 

 June according to latitude. The nest is made of sticks inter- 

 woven with grasses and lined with soft roots, grasses, feathers 

 or wool. The eggs are four to six, of a pale greenish color, 

 spotted and clouded with brownish green and purplish gray. 

 Both sexes assist in incubation which lasts about eighteen 

 days. They are watchful and attentive to their young, and it 

 is a very pretty sight to see them feeding after they have 

 left the nest. 



Very generally the crow is in disrepute. There is prob- 

 ably no bird more generally and unjustly persecuted than 

 it. In the first place, this is so because it is black. Some one, 

 I think it was Mr. Selim H. Peabody, has well said, "there 

 has always been a certain foolish and groundless prejudice 

 against any creature which wears the sombre color; a black 

 sheep is the derision of the flock ; a black cat is the fit confident 

 of a witch; the prince of evil is painted black; a black man 

 is hardly admitted to the rights of manhood; and crows are 

 black. In the next place, in the great variety of things which 

 furnish them a living, they persist in eating certain items 

 which man claims as his, and denies their right to, particularly 

 corn." And then they are not gifted with song, and they 

 are accused of robbing nests of their eggs and their young. 

 Long ago Audobon said, "The crow devours myriads of grubs, 

 every day in the year, that nightly lay waste the farmer's 

 fields. It destroys quadrupeds innumerable, every one of 

 which is an enemy to his poultry and his flocks. I can but 

 wish men would reflect a little, and become more indulgent 

 toward our poor, humble harmless and even most serviceable 

 bird, the crow." What Audobon then said as to the value of 

 the crow has since been well established by scientific investi- 

 gation. It is true that during the winter two-thirds of the 

 food of an adult crow is vegetable and the principal part of 



