148 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Sticking his bill into the shell he may 

 be seen flying with it across the field, 

 piles of the shells may be found under 

 their nests. Nests carefully hid away and 

 so escaping the eye of the good house 

 dame, are not infrequently found by 

 watching the black thief. The turkey's 

 nest, carefully bushed in some remote 

 pasture, can be detected in like manner. 

 Not only are young chickens carried 

 away as delicate morsels, to be de- 

 voured along with eggs, by the young 

 in the nest, but the Crow will alight on 

 the back of a large hen, peck out her 

 brain, strip oft" the skin and devour the 

 inside— entrails, etc. If driven away 

 he will return to his repast, and finally 

 consume the whole. 



The terrapin or box-turtle, strictly a 

 dry-land reptile and very common in 

 the state of Maryland and southward, 

 is a very useful insectiverous feeder. 

 This delicate piece of flesh the Crow 

 has learned to appreciate, and pecking 

 a hole in the back, cleans out the shell, 

 leaving not even the blood nor liga- 

 ments fastening the body to the neatly 

 closed house. 



An item of mischief not commonly 

 known, is the feeding of this species on 

 the berries of poisonous vines and 

 shrubs in winter,— the poison ivy and 

 poison sumac for instance, thus dissem- 

 inating these noxious growths along the 

 fences and about the swamps and pas- 

 tures. This has been well brought out 

 by the Agricultural Department in its 

 late reports. 



It is now time to inquire as to the 

 good to be set down to the Crow's 

 credit, over against all the above cate- 

 gory of evil-doing. 



Beyond question the' Crow is some- 

 what insectiverous. Visiting the newly 

 mown fields, while the hay is yet dry- 

 ing, they will give chase to the myriads 

 of grasshoppers abroad at such times, 

 and literally fill themselves. They also 

 hunt the ground where hay and straw- 

 stacks have been removed, and where 



the muck worm (Lachnosloma fused? 

 eventuating in the well known June- 

 bug, and very destructive to the roots- 

 of certain garden and fruit products, is 

 abundant. These they capture with 

 great relish, also following the plow 

 which turns these grubs up in rich, 

 ground. A certain proportion of bee- 

 tles are also found in his stomach. 



Those who examine the Crows in 

 winter, cannot fail to be impressed with, 

 their scanty bill of fare. One finds cer- 

 tain poisonous seeds, as above noted, a. 

 few seeds of the fc wild grape, refuse of, 

 street droppings, and frequently noth- 

 ing at all. One is led to feel that the- 

 winter is mainly a long fast, in which 

 the Crows which gyrate about the 

 fields and the : pines, must draw upon, 

 the flesh stored during the more pro- 

 pitious part of the year. 



We must not omit to give the Crow- 

 his due as a carrion feeder, thus help- 

 ing out the Turkey Buzzard in the 

 more southerly regions of our country. 



Careful students will discover that it 

 is very difficult to make out a case in 

 our big blackbird's favor. While we. 

 would not annihilate them, there can 

 be little doubt that we have very many 

 more of his kind than we need. 



J. H. Lakgille. 



A Disastrous Season on Pelican Island. 



It was with great pleasure that I read 

 Dr. Gibb's excellent article regarding 

 the Brown Pelican in Florida, and else- 

 where, with a description of a visit to 

 Pelican Island on Indian River in the 

 March issue of Oologist. I was so 

 much interested in the^subject in ques- 

 tion that I cannot resist the temptation 

 of sending you a few notes on my visit 

 to the Island where I found things in a 

 peculiarly unsatisfactory state, to my- 

 self at least, for I had expected a fine 

 opportunity of studying their nesting 

 habits, and I think that I may rightly 

 say that the birds themselves fully ap- 



