THE CROW AND ITS RELATION TO MAN. 33 



habit of the crow. Not only do they eat eggs and young birds, but they feed 

 their offspring on them. Doubtless few crows live through May and June 

 without preying on smaller birds, and the possibilities are that almost any 

 one of the birds destroyed (either in the egg or out of it) is of greater economic 

 value than the crow. The crow, therefore, in addition to the direct damage 

 it may do to our crops, robs us of the services of birds far more desirable than 

 itself. Even if the crow, aside from its cannibal-like propensities, was wholly 

 beneficial, it would not, it seems to me, render us as great a service as 

 would have been performed by the birds it destroys. In short, in my opinion 

 the crow is one of the worst enemies of our small insectivorous and seed- 

 eating birds, and as such is undeserving of protection." 



Louis A. Fuertes, of Ithaca, N. Y., writes: 



The smaller birds, notably robins, thrushes, etc., suffer badly here, crows 

 being very bold and coming into the yards in the suburbs and taking young 

 robins from nests on the houses and even eating them in full sight on the 

 lawns. Of this I have several records. (1912.) 



F. H. Mosher, of Melrose, Mass., who has done considerable field 

 work in connection with the economic value of birds in his State, 

 asserts : 



During the past season I found two pheasants' nests and one of a grouse 

 that had been robbed by crows. In this vicinity, where the gypsy .and brown- 

 tail moths are plentiful, the small birds have a hard time to bring through 

 their young because of the crows. The moths denude the trees, so the crows 

 can easily find the other birds' nests and destroy their eggs and young. (1911.) 



Le Roy M. Tufts, of Farmington, Me., has written the Biological 

 Survey as follows: 



For three weeks I arose at daylight and watched in my own and neighboring 

 orchards, and during that time I detected crows in the act of robbing nests no 

 less than 17 times. The next spring I trapped, poisoned, and shot about 50 of 

 the black vandals, and these in my own and neighboring orchards, effectually 

 preventing further depredations on the robins' nests ; and, as I have followed up 

 this plan each year, the increase of birds in this locality has been most gratify- 

 ing. Whereas there were but 8 or 9 robins' nests in my orchards 10 years ago, 

 last year I counted some 30 nests of the robin and many other birds, such as 

 the cedar waxwing, thistle-finch, etc. (1904.) 



It is a common accusation against the crow, especially among 

 sportsmen, that it is one of the most destructive enemies of woodland 

 and prairie nesting game birds. In a measure these complaints are 

 probably well founded, more particularly as regards those species 

 that habitually seek cover in which to breed, and of which the}^ have 

 been largely deprived by the advance of agriculture. Under such 

 conditions the crow probably now enjoys an advantage which it did 

 not possess formerly. In the readjustment of the relations between it 

 and its feathered prey, which has doubtless taken place, such birds 

 as the ruffed grouse and bobwhite are the losers. 

 14653°— 18— Bull. 621 3 



