Crows 255 



food. Wild ones that have been caught show a 

 similar liking for mice. A friend of mine once 

 captured a young crow about two-thirds grown. 

 For some reason the crow refused to eat, and would 

 not take nourishment except when it was forced 

 down his throat. One day a boy caught an old field- 

 mouse and six little ones, and gave them to my friend 

 for his crow. As soon as the crow saw them, his 

 appetite seemed to return, and very quickly he dis- 

 posed of the whole family. This would seem to 

 indicate that the crow had had previous knowledge 

 of the flavor of mice. Now if this habit of feeding 

 upon mice is as common among crows as I believe 

 it to be, it must certainly be of considerable economic 

 value throughout the farming region of the United 

 States; for as it is, the different varieties of field- 

 mice cause millions of dollars of damage annually 

 throughout the region inhabited by the common 

 crow. 



It is probable that young rabbits, the cottontail in 

 particular, are often kiUed by crows, and the same 

 may be said of the groimd squirrels and gophers. 

 The crow also catches a few reptiles, fishes, and inverte- 

 brates of various kinds, besides annually destroying 

 a large number of insects, among the most harmful 

 being cutworms, weevils, ground spiders, click beetles. 



