328 PERCHERS AND SINGERS 
harsh and strident; but in his native solitudes, where bird 
sounds are so seldom heard, the voyageur is always glad to 
hear his call. And surely, every perching bird that chooses 
to brave the rigors of the northern winter instead of migrat- 
ing is entitled both to respect and admiration. 
The plumage of the Canada Jay has a peculiar fluffy ap- 
pearance, suggestive of fur. Its prevailing color is ashy gray. 
The nape and back of the head are black, but the forehead is 
marked by a large white spot. The wings and tail are of a 
darker gray than the body. The home of this interesting 
bird—the companion of the moose, as well as of forest-haunt- 
ing man—extends from Nova Scotia, and northern New Eng- 
land, throughout Canada to Manitoba, and northward to 
the limit of the great forests. 
Tue Common Crow! needs no description. When finer 
birds were abundant, we cared little for him; but now that 
bird life generally has so greatly diminished, we feel like wel- 
coming him as a friend. His cheerful “Caw” is a welcome 
sound, and his services to the farmer overbalance the bad 
things he perpetrates. The Department of Agriculture, 
through Professor F. E. L. Beal, has officially investigated 
him, published the court records of his case, and pronounced 
him a bird worthy of protection. It is declared, after an 
examination of the stomachs of specimens, that the noxious 
insects destroyed by the Crows—cut-worms, caterpillars, 
grasshoppers and also mice—represent a saving of more grain 
than the bird consumes. 
It must be admitted, however, that the “row does many 
! Cor'vus a-mer-i-can'us. Length, 18 to 20 inches. 
