26o Crows 



wary bird, or at the same time a more teachable one, 

 than the crow. The crow is perfectly foolish about 

 some things and very wise about others. My ex- 

 perience with crows at "the blind" very well illus- 

 trates the last statement. 



In the month of March I was tramping through a 

 field near a piece of woods about a mile from Chat- 

 ham, New Jersey, when I heard a great commotion 

 among some crows and occasionally the report of a 

 gun. I was interested to know what was going on, 

 but an elevation of ground prevented me from seeing 

 the birds. Changing my direction a trifle, in two or 

 three minutes I was in full view of a flock of probably 

 from twenty to twenty-five crows, most of which were 

 circhng about in the air, the remainder being perched 

 upon tall trees. The elevation upon which I was 

 standing gave me an unobstructed view over a small 

 meadow, and at the farther side, near a fence skirted 

 by bushes, I saw the reason for the cawing of the 

 crows. About six rods from the fence, in the open 

 meadow, was a post about five feet high, upon the 

 top of which was perched a large bird, probably a 

 hawk or an owl. I had not fully taken in the situa- 

 tion, when one of the circling crows made a dive for 

 the bird on the post, probably coming within a foot 

 or two of it. It was just starting on the incline up- 



