A WINTER CROW ROOST i ^-7 



wet weather they speedily break up and iiiin<j;lc 

 with the soil, but in cold weather they freeze and 

 retain their form. A study of these pellets reveal 

 the nature of the corvine dietary. In times of 

 plenty, as in the early fall when berries are every- 

 where, the crows are extravagant and wasteful in 

 their feeding habits. Much nourishment is 

 thrown out in these pellets before it has had 

 time to be digested in the stomach. Like the 

 ancient Romans they empty their stomachs that 

 they may feast the more. Crows take no in- 

 terest in food conservation; the pellets at these 

 times show much wasted food. Not so in 

 severe winters when famine is close at hand. 

 Then every bit of the waxy coat of myrtle ber- 

 ries is digested off and there are no intact cran- 

 berries, as in the bounteous autumn, but onl) the 

 remnants of skin and seeds. At these times also 

 some ashes are to be found in their pellets, as 

 if the birds were trying to quiet the stomach crav- 

 ing by bulk, and hunger had made them bold in 

 visiting the refuse piles near houses. 



I collected at various times, from November to 

 February, several hundred of these pellets, 



