32 BULLETIN 621, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



can bittern, Ward heron, little blue heron, black-crowned night 

 heron, clapper rail, Wayne clapper rail, Virginia rail, coot, spotted 

 sandpiper, upland plover, Wilson plover, bobwhite, ruffed grouse, 

 prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, pheasants (various introduced 

 species), red-shouldered hawk, osprey, nicker, kingbird, least fly- 

 catcher, horned lark, blue jay, red-winged blackbird, meadowlark, 

 Baltimore oriole, bronzed grackle, purple finch, goldfinch, vesper 

 sparrow, English sparrow, chipping sparrow, field sparrow, song 

 sparrow, cardinal, barn swallow, • cedar waxwing, yellow warbler, 

 mockingbird, catbird, brown thrasher, wood thrush, and robin. 



Not all such misdeeds, however, should be charged against the com- 

 mon crow. It is apparent from the localities where some of these 

 reports originated that the fish crow (Gorvus ossifragus) or the 

 northwest crow (C. ccmHnm) may have been to blame. As a matter 

 of fact, these maritime species appear to be much greater despoilers 

 of eggs than their inland relative, but they are frequently confused 

 with the common crow and their misdeeds heaped upon its head. 



The molesting of small song and insectivorous species by crows 

 about dooryards involves misfortunes which come intimately to the 

 attention of a great number of bird lovers. As the published evi- 

 dence on this point is already voluminous, only a few reports are 

 presented here. 



John Lewis Childs, of Floral Park, N. Y., reports: 



It is my opinion from a close observation of crows for a period of 20 years that 

 they do much more damage than good, not alone in the destruction of corn 

 and poultry, but particularly in respect to the large number of smaller birds 

 which they destroy during the breeding season. For years I have noticed that 

 four-fifths of the nests of the robin, the wood thrush, and catbird, and many 

 others, are robbed, either of eggs or the young birds before they are able to 

 leave the nest. This is done almost wholly by crows, and the number of eggs 

 and young birds of the smaller species which a pair of nesting crows will 

 destroy during the breeding season is, in my opinion, enormous. Of course, 

 birds like robins, which nest near houses, are not subject to this robbery so 

 much as those which breed farther away. Yet, year after year a few crows 

 will come sneaking about the trees and shrubbery close to my house immediately 

 after daybreak, scanning every possible location that might contain a nest of 

 eggs or young birds, and the number of nests that are robbed in this way right 

 under our very nose is considerable. (1911.) 



Frank M. Chapman has placed in the following forceful terms his 

 conclusions regarding the relation between the crow and the smaller 

 species : * 



While, from the nature of the case, birds' eggs and young birds can form 

 but- a small portion of the animal food supply of the crow, I believe it to be 

 indisputable that during the nesting season they constitute a large percentage 

 of the crow's food. Nest robbing is not occasional, but is the characteristic 



1 Chapman, Frank M., Economic Value of Birds to the State : N. Y. Forest, Fish, and 

 Game Commission, p. 39, 1903. 



