The Crow in Its Relation to Agriculture. 5 



sentially the same, diflfering only to an extent occasioned by the vary- 

 ing character of the food supply in the different parts of the area 

 covered by their combined ranges. In some of the Western States, 

 where the crow appears only as an occasional breeder, it has little 

 economic significance, as in Nevada and the greater parts of Arizona, 

 New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and'parts of Wash- 

 ington and Oregon. It can be considered only locally abundant in 

 California. The western parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and 



Fig. 1. — Young crows nearly ready to leave the nest. 



Nebraska support very few crows; and in large areas of Montana, 

 North Dakota, and South Dakota, and in the Gulf States of Florida, 

 Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana crows are not common. Based 

 on the average yearly abundance, the crow exerts its greatest eco- 

 nomic influence in the States along the Atlantic coast north of North 

 Carolina and in the central and upper Mississippi Valley. 



LIFE HISTORY. 



The nest of the crow is built at heights varying from 20 to 60 feet, 

 and during the breeding season it is usually well concealed from be- 

 low by foliage. Sometimes it is placed in the dense top of a pine, but 

 oaks and elms of the river bottoms, and, in the West, cottonwoods are 

 equally acceptable. The nests are rarely found in deep forests. In 



