254 Crows 



that if some one can tell why crows are sociable birds, 

 the question as to why they form roosts will be answered. 



The plumage of the crow is black, and his character 

 has been, and still is, painted of a hue equally dark. 

 The habits of the crows of a hundred years ago and 

 those of the crow of to-day are not the same, but most 

 writers seem to think it necessary to inflict upon the 

 present crow the bad reputation of past generations. 

 Birds considered in relation to man are of two general 

 classes, those that are helpful and those that are 

 harmful. According to the popular idea, the crow 

 belongs decidedly to the latter class. I believe the 

 wrongdoings of crows to have been exaggerated, and 

 that the real harm done is very much less than is 

 supposed. To judge the crow, or any other animal 

 in its economic relations to man, from a scientific 

 standpoint, we must know what it lives upon. This 

 will largely determine whether it is beneficial or 

 harmful. However, in one part of the animal's 

 range this may put him in one class, while in another 

 part he will appear in the other. 



The crow destroys a considerable number of field- 

 mice, and in particular the young of the short-tailed 

 variety, which builds its nest upon the surface of 

 the ground. Even tame crows are very fond of mice, 

 seeming to prefer them to almost any other kind of 



