60 ZOOLOGY. 



along its entire upper side. Nowhere in large 

 numbers. 



Food, Benefit conferred, and Damage done. Eavens, 

 and sometimes even rooks, attack lambs and sick 

 sheep, also ducks, geese, fowls, and pigeons. Carrion 

 crows and hooded crows rarely attack our domestic 

 animals. All cro\TO, however, steal the eggs of our 

 poultry. They also injure sport, since they ki^Jhares 

 and rabbits, young fawns , quails, pheasSits, etc. 

 They do a little good, however, by devouring field- 

 voles, but, as a rule, only catch the sick ones which 

 are not able to move quickly. They do harm by 



Fig. 36.— Head of Book (Corvus frugilegui). 



destroying useful insect-eating birds, also eating their 

 eggs and young. But as insect-eaters, they are 

 extremely useful ; they devour cockchafers, wire- 

 worms, butterflies, surface caterpillars, crane flies and 

 their larvse, and field snails ; also many earthworms. 

 As to the vegetable part of their food, they devour, 

 in the first place, germinating seeds ; grain, peas, 

 beans. They also pick grain from the ear, both when 

 ripe and, to a larger extent, when still soft ; and in 

 doing this puU down the ear so as to crack the stalk, 

 thus causing more damage than by the mere eating. 

 They also plunder the ripening peas, and feast upon 



