HABITS OF THE AMERICAN CROW. 



( Corvus americanus. ) 



The family Corvidae is composed of 

 crows and jays. They inhabit all por- 

 tions of the globe, except New Zealand. 

 In the United States we find the Amer- 

 ican Crow to be the most abundant rep- 

 resentative, and barring the sparrow 

 and the robin, the Crow is undoubtedly 

 the most familiar in name of any Ameri- 

 can bird. On this continent their range 

 extends from northern Mexico to the 

 Arctic regions, where they are then re- 

 placed by their larger relative, the raven. 

 The American Crows, which breed from 

 northern United States and northward, 

 usually migrate at the beginning of cold 

 weather. In all other localities, how- 

 ever, they are generally residents 

 throughout the year, from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. The Florida, fish and 

 northwest crows inhabit the extreme por- 

 tions of North America and are all 

 closely allied to our common Crow, the 

 principal differences being in the size of 

 the bill, feet and wings. A typical Amer- 

 ican Crow is entirely black with a metal- 

 lic luster which is suggestive of purple 

 or steel blue. 



Both sexes vary considerably in size, 

 but the female averages smaller than her 

 mate. Regarding diet, Crows adapt 

 themselves to most anything; in fact, 

 his bill of fare is as varied as are his call 

 notes. Fruits, seeds, grain, insects, craw- 

 fish, carrion, eggs and young birds are 

 all agreeable to a Crow's palate. 



They are very intelligent creatures, 

 possessing a vocabulary with such a di- 

 versity, in the number and tone of their 

 notes, that naturalists have termed it a 

 "Crow language." Cunning, mischiev- 

 ousness. inquisitiveness and daring are 

 characteristic traits of the Crow, and 

 therefore his reputation among other 

 birds (also the farmer) is far from envi- 

 able. Although few are their friends and 

 numerous their enemies, the Crows ap- 

 pear to be very loyal to each other, and 

 I know of no other bird (aside from the 



English sparrow) more capable of hold- 

 ing his own against all intruders. 



Less than seventy years ago the In- 

 dian, wolf, prairie chicken and wild-fowl, 

 together with the Crow, were the most 

 prominent features of the Calumet re- 

 gion, in and about where Chicago is now 

 located. With the encroachment of civili- 

 zation all have vanished, save the Crow, 

 which continues to nest in considerable 

 numbers, annually, within the city limits 

 of Chicago. From October to April they 

 congregate at dusk by the hundreds 

 about some favorite roosting place, and 

 at early morn they scatter about the 

 country, apparently in search of adven- 

 ture as well as of food. The nesting 

 season extends from March to June, ac- 

 cording to locality. 



In the Great Lake region eggs are 

 deposited in April, but in the vicinity of 

 Chicago tlie birds are rather early this 

 year. I observed a nest containing six 

 eggs on the 29th of March. Nests are 

 placed from twenty-five to seventy feet 

 above the ground, preferably in the 

 crotch of a forest tree. In Dakota, where 

 timber was scarce during the latter part 

 of May, 1900, I found them nesting only 

 ten feet above the fround. Recently I 

 have located several nests about Chicago 

 which were only fifteen feet above the 

 ground, while other pairs continue house- 

 keeping at an elevation of sixty feet. 



The nests are constructed of twigs, 

 hay, roots, grass and sod, with a lining 

 of finer material consisting of bark strips 

 and bunches of hair and wool. They are 

 on the whole very bulky affairs, although 

 quite substantially built. Last year's 

 nests are a favorite receptacle for the 

 eggs of the horned and barred owls, 

 which utilize them for breeding purposes 

 during February and INIarch. The eggs 

 in a Crow's nest average four to seven 

 in number and exhibifgreat variation in 

 size, shape and coloring. Eggs from the 

 same nest frequently appear to have been 



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