Music of the Wild 



nest at a lici^lit of less tliaii tliirty-five feet, and 

 from that up to tifty. At that distanee it is not 

 ])()ssil»le th.at male and female or different ])airs 

 can be told apart Avithont stron<4' glasses; wjiere 

 there is one family tliere are sure to he others close, 

 and no matter how im])ndent a single crow may 

 he 'when )'ou are A\ithoiit a gun and meet him for- 

 aging in your fields, he is a Avary bird -when you 

 a])])roach his nest. 



In ca])ti\ity cro^vs haAc been kno\\-n to do many 

 ])eculiar things of their oA\n initiatiAe, such as hid- 

 "Blackas ing food glA'cn them \\'hen they are not hungry, for 

 a Crow " iige at another time, or rubbing against a stone a 

 cater])illar to free it from spines. They can be 

 taught to talk by s])litting the tips of their tongues, 

 and can re])eat from two to six Avords distinctly and 

 at ap])rop]'iate times. In life they ncA'er are quite 

 so black as they are painted, for the neck and back 

 feathers have beautiful ])urplish ])ronze tints in 

 strong light. These croAvs a]>peared to haA'e a 

 sense of humor, for Avhen A\-e left the forest Avith- 

 out haA'ing inteid'ered Avith them they seemed to 

 imagine they had Aan(]uished us and folloAved for 

 a distance, crying something that soimded nuich 

 more like, "Haw! HaAv! HaAv!" than "CaAv!" 



I never liaAC made an exhaustive study of 

 crows, but I have penetrated their life history 

 some\\hat, enough to get all that can be learned by 

 seeing and hearing; and that, come to think of it, 



