Crows 253 



owls were very numerous, and I have reasons for 

 believing that they frequently visited the roost at 

 night. Hunters take advantage of the roosting habits 

 of crows and station themselves along the various 

 routes leading to the roost, killing and wounding 

 several in a single day; often, too, they make attacks 

 upon the crows after they have settled quietly for the 

 night. Usually several hunters combine for a night 

 attack, and the net results may be two or three hundred 

 crows killed, and perhaps as many more wounded. 



Crow roosts are less frequent now than in the 

 days of Audubon, or even before. The destruction 

 of the forests has probably had considerable to do 

 with lessening the crow population, while within the 

 past twenty-five years the millinery trade has used 

 thousands of crows' wings. However, just at present 

 the demand for crows' wings is not so great as it was 

 a few years ago. 



The question has often been asked, "Why do crows 

 form roosts at all ? " There have been several answers 

 to this question, none of which I believe to be quite 

 satisfactory. By some it is supposed that the birds 

 collect for warmth, and for protection from their 

 enemies; by others, that the particular places 

 selected as roosts afford better perching facilities 

 for the long winter nights. On the contrary, I believe 



