The Crow. 



115 



ment. They are, however, rather mis- 

 chievous, and much given to stealing any- 

 thing that is bright and glistening. A pair 

 of young Crows that came under our ob- 

 servation were perfectly tame, and as soon 

 as they were able to fly were given full 

 liberty. They associated on equal terms 

 with the children, and took part in their 

 games, seeming readily to comprehend 

 their part. At night they roosted in the 

 trees, and in the early morning were to be 

 seen walking about the lawn. They 

 always presented themselves at the kitchen 

 door at the usual time for feeding, which 

 was just after breakfast, and if the servant 

 who had the matter in charge delayed giv- 

 ing them their meal beyond the accus- 

 tomed time, they called vociferously and 

 soon brought her out. During the time 

 the children were absent at school and 

 there was no one for them to play with, 

 they associated with the men who were at 

 work about the place, riding on their carts 

 and wheelbarrows, gathering food from 

 the freshly turned up earth in the garden, 

 and seeming more at home than any 

 domestic animals on the place except the 

 dogs. They sometimes made themselves 

 a nuisance to the men, especially when the 

 latter were doing anything that required 

 much stooping. The Crows would alight 

 on their backs and try to detach from their 

 trousers the metal buttons, brightened by 

 much wear. At these they would peck and 

 pound with their sharp, strong beaks until 

 the victim would entirely lose patience and 

 strike viciously at them, when they would 

 cleverly dodge the blow and fly off with a 

 caw of derision. These two Crows re- 

 mained about until winter set in, when 

 they joined a flock of their migrating 

 brothers and disappeared. It is said that 

 some Crows have been taught to pronounce 

 various words. 



The Crow is well known for his courage 

 against feathered foes, and he boldly 

 attacks and drives away from the vicinity 



of his nest any hawk, owl, or even eagle, 

 which may venture near it. Against the 

 owl the Crow seems to have an especial 

 grudge, and if one of these birds is dis- 

 covered by one of a flock of Crows, they 

 all turn upon and attack him, beating and 

 buffeting him until he succeeds in gaining 

 some tree with thick foliage, where he is 

 safe from further molestation. Sometimes 

 the great horned owl takes a savage re- 

 venge on the Crows by killing and devour- 

 ing one of their number. We have seen a 

 marsh hawk in winter attempt to catch a 

 Crow, hovering over and trying to seize 

 one of three that sat on the topmost rail of 

 a fence. The Crows seemed not at all 

 alarmed by his demonstrations, and when 

 he clumsily stretched out his claws to grasp 

 one of them, the threatened bird only 

 shifted his position by hopping a foot or 

 two to one side. The hawk soon became 

 discouraged, and flew away after other and 

 more easily captured game. 



Years ago when Crows were much more 

 numerous along the North Atlantic coast 

 than they are at present, these birds used 

 to congregate in great flocks in the autumn, 

 and their roosting grounds were well known. 

 These were often in dense cedar swamps, 

 and to and from them at evening and morn- 

 ing enormous numbers of Crows would 

 journey, scattering out during the day to 

 feed over a wide extent of country, again 

 collecting at the roost at night. 



Once in a long time a Crow is seen that 

 is almost pure white, but such albinoes are 

 very unusual. 



The American Crow is eighteen inches 

 long, and its outstretched wings measure 

 over three feet. Its nostrils, which are at 

 the base of the bill, are hidden under stiff, 

 bristly, or hair-like feathers, which are di- 

 rected forward, or toward the point of the 

 bill. All the feathers are black, being 

 glossy and shiny in the male and some- 

 what duller in the female. The bill and 

 feet are black. 



