UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 621 



Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey 

 E. W. NELSON, Chief 



sWir^Lru 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER. 



February 16, 1918 



THE CROW AND ITS RELATION TO MAN. 



By E. R. Kalmbach, Assistant Biologist. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Systematic position and distribution of the 



crow 2 



Life history 4 



The roosting habit 6 



Information from correspondents 9 



Food habits .' 10 



Adult crows 11 



Animal food 11 



Vegetable food 42 



Nestling crows 55 



Animal food 57 



Food habits— Continued. 



Nestling crows— Continued. 



Vegetable food 67 



Distribution of live-stock diseases 68 



Distribution of seeds 68 



Natural enemies 71 



Protection of crops -. . . 73 



Legislation 80 



Summary 81 



Conclusion 85 



List of items identified in stomachs 86 



Index 91 



INTRODUCTION. 



Since the publication in 1895 of " The Common Crow of the United 

 States " 1 no comprehensive treatise on the economic status of the 

 crow has appeared. The edition of that bulletin has long since been 

 exhausted, and the only recent publications available for inquirers 

 have been short articles on the crow appearing in papers dealing with 

 a number of birds. 2 In response to the many urgent requests for in- 

 formation for a number of years a complete investigation of the food 

 habits of the crow was undertaken, and this paper is the result. As 

 the former bulletin was based on an examination of the food of only 

 909 crows, collected mainly in eastern States, it was apparent that 

 the number would have to be supplemented by material from other 



1 Barrows, W. B., and Schwarz, E. A., Bull. No. 6, Div. of Ornithology and Mammalogy, 

 TJ. S. Dept. Agr., 1895. 



2 Notably Farmers' Bulletins 54, pp. 15-17, 1897 (revised edition pp. 22-23, 1904); 

 630, pp. 17-19, 1915 ; and 755, pp. 17-19, 1916. 



Note. — This bulletin discusses in detail the beneficial and harmful food habits of the 

 crow ; gives a general account of its life history and geographic distribution ; and shows 

 rhow it may be controlled where necessary. It is for general distribution. 

 14653°— 18— Bull. 621 1 



