THE CROW AND ITS RELATION TO MAN. 7 



Jersey at Hainesport, Merchantville, Reedy Island in the Delaware 

 River, Bridgeboro, and Centerton; and in Pennsylvania at Davis 

 Grove and Camp Hill. Some of these roosts are still occupied and 

 are said to harbor thousands of birds. A roost at Woodridge, near 

 Langdon, D. C, which appeared to be the successor to that observed 

 some years ago at Arlington, Va., is reported by A. H. Howell, of 

 the Biological Survey, to have harbored 270,000 birds in the winter 

 1910-11. Mr. Howell estimated that fully 100 crows a second en- 

 tered the roost at the height of the influx, and added that this would 

 be 6,000 every minute, and if the same rate continued for three- 

 quarters of an hour, which is about the time occupied by the gather- 

 ing of the clans, 270,000 crows would be established for the night 

 within an area of 5 to 10 acres. He says that while this estimate 

 may be short of the actual number it certainly does not greatly ex- 

 ceed it. Dr. S. D. Judd observed this same roost in February, 1901, 

 when he estimated 100,000 as its population. 



A roost located near Chevy Chase, Md., considered to be the suc- 

 cessor to the Woodridge roost, and one upon which the writer made 

 observations, gave a much smaller number of birds. Observations 

 made on January 8, 1911, under a line of flight coming from the 

 east, indicated that from 1,800 to 1,900 birds flew past. The four 

 lines of flight entering the roost would probably give a total popula- 

 tion of about 7,500. A strong wind was blowing at right angles 

 to the direction of flight, and as this caused the birds to spread out 

 in a pathway fully half a mile wide doubtless many were overlooked. 

 About the 1st of January, 1912, the crows forsook this roosting place, 

 and, again resorting to the previous site near Woodridge, combined 

 with a small number which had been using this place. The writer 

 A 7 isited this roost on January 28, 1912, and estimated the number 

 coming from the north at about 6,500. This would mean that the 

 whole roost was occupied by probably from 25,000 to 30,000. 



In response to letters of inquiry considerable information bearing 

 on the location, size, and character of crow roosts occupied during 

 the winter of 1911-12 was secured. Upward of 290 correspondents 

 submitted reports of this nature, and while it can not be claimed that 

 the data obtained are anything but a mere fragment of knowledge, 

 the compilation of these facts sheds some light on the location of 

 the winter crow population. 



On the map on page 8 (fig. 1) is recorded a total of 170 roosts of 

 varying size. This shows in what areas a rather restricted migra- 

 tory movement has assembled a large part of the crow population of 

 North America. East of the Appalachians and grouped on the lower 

 watersheds of the Potomac, Susquehanna, Delaware, Hudson, and 

 Connecticut Rivers are many of the most populous roosts, some of 



