THE COMMON CROW. 



The crow doth sing as merry as the lark, 

 When neither is attended." 



3 p'EW birds have more interesting 

 characteristics than the Com- 

 mon Crow, being, in many of 

 his actions, very like the 

 Raven, especially in his love for 

 carrion. Like the Raven, he has been 

 known to attack game, although his 

 inferior size forces him to call to his 

 assistance the aid of his fellows to cope 

 with larger creatures. Rabbits and 

 hares are frequently the prey of this 

 bird which pounces on them as 

 they steal abroad to feed. His 

 food consists of reptiles, frogs, and 

 lizards ; he is a plunderer of other 

 birds' nests. On the seashore he finds 

 crabs, shrimps and inhabited shells, 

 which he ingeniously cracks by flying 

 with them to a great height and 

 letting them fall upon a convenient 

 rock. 



The crow is seen in single pairs or 

 in little bands of four or five. In the 

 autumn evenings, however, they 

 assemble in considerable flocks before 

 going to roost and make a wonderful 

 chattering, as if comparing notes of 

 the events of the day. 



The nest of the Crow is placed in 

 some tree remote from habitations of 

 other birds. Although large and 

 very conspicuous at a distance, it is 

 fixed upon one of the topmost branches 

 quite out of reach of the hand of the 

 adventurous urchin who longs to 

 secure its contents. It is loosely made 

 and saucer shaped. Sticks and softer 

 substances are used, to construct it, 

 and it is lined with hair and fibrous 

 roots. Very recently a thrifty and 

 intelligent Crow built for itself a 

 summer residence in an airy tree near 

 Bombay, the material used being gold, 

 silver, and steel spectacle frames, 

 which the bird had stolen from an 

 optician of that city. Eighty-four 

 frames had been used for this purpose, 

 and they were so ingeniously woven 



together that the nest was quite a 

 work of art. The eggs are variable, 

 or rather individual, in their markings, 

 and even in their size. The Crow 

 rarely uses the same nest twice, 

 although he frequently repairs to the 

 same locality from year to year. He 

 is remarkable for his attachment to 

 his mate and young, surpassing' the 

 Fawn and Turtle Dove in conjugal 

 courtesy. 



The Somali Arabs bear a deadly 

 hatred toward the Crow. The origin 

 of their detestation is the superstition 

 that during the flight of Mohammed 

 from his enemies, he hid himself in a 

 cave, where he was perceived by the 

 Crow, at that time a bird of light 

 plumage, who, when he saw the pur- 

 suers approaching the spot, perched 

 above Mohammed's hiding place, and 

 screamed, "Ghar! Ghar!" (cave! cave!) 

 so as to indicate the place of conceal- 

 ment. His enemies, however, did not 

 understand the bird, and passed on, 

 and Mohammed, when he came out of 

 the cave, clothed the Crow in per- 

 petual black, and commanded him to 

 cry "Ghar" as long as Crows should 

 live. 



And he lives to a good old age. 

 Instances are not rare where he has 

 attained to half a century, without 

 great loss of activity or failure of sight. 



At Red Bank, a few miles northeast 

 of Cincinnati, on the Little Miami 

 River, in the bottoms, large flocks of 

 Crows congregate the year around. A 

 few miles away, high upon Walnut 

 Hills, is a Crow roost, and in the 

 late afternoons the Crows, singly, in 

 pairs, and in flocks, are seen on the 

 wing, flying heavily, with full crops, 

 on the way to the roost, from which 

 they descend in the early morning, 

 crying "Caw! Caw!" to the fields of 

 the newly planted, growing, or 

 matured corn, or corn stacks, as the 

 season may provide. 



9o 



