CROWS, MAGPIES, AND JAYS 



pinon jays, and nut- 

 crackers. It is repre- 

 sented in North Amer- 

 ica by 17 species and 

 22 subspecies, or varie- 

 ties. If to these be 

 added two European 

 species, the rook ( Cor- 

 dis fntgilcgiis frugilc- 

 giis) and the hooded 

 crow (Corviis conii.v 

 comix), which have 

 been recorded as acci- 

 dental wanderers to 

 Greenland or Iceland, 

 we find a total of 41 

 kinds of the Corvidac 

 which have Ijeen ac- 

 credited to this conti- 

 nent north of Mexico. 



THE COMMON CROW 



South America is 



the only continent 



where there are no 



native crows. Africa 



has a black-and-white 



species and Asia one 



whose black feathers 



are interspersed with 



markings of gray and 



brown. In Europe 



some of the family 



representatives are 



rooks, jackdaws, and 



carrion crows. Tlie 



first named congregate 



in vast numbers to 



roost, and this practice 



has given us the name 



"rookery," which in 

 the United States is applied to any numer- 

 ous assemljlage of birds in trees. 



In the Piedmont country of North Car- 

 olina I came upon a little girl weeping be- 

 side the road. The mother, with red and 

 toil-worn hands, was caressing her child 

 and trying to comfort her. Dismounting, 

 I led my horse nearer and learned that the 

 outburst of grief was caused by a crow 

 which had just killed and carried away the 

 last of five newly hatched chickens, the 

 pets of the distressed child. 



It was no use telling these people that 

 the crow is not really as black as he is 

 painted, that he eats many grubs and 

 beetles, and does much good about the 



Photograph by Dr. A. A. Allen 

 YOUNG CROWS TAME EASILY AND MAKE INTERESTING PETS 



All three of these desperate-looking plotters arc at work hatching 

 some mischief and Jimmie Crow is probably in the thick of it (see text, 

 page 58). 



farm. They lived with him throughout 

 the year and found their contacts with 

 him too intimate and disturbing. Crows 

 had stolen their hens' eggs repeatedly and 

 now had begun to acquire a taste for 

 young chickens. Crows pecked holes in 

 their melons ; pulled up sprouting corn, 

 and robbed the nests of birds which the 

 family liked to have about the home. In 

 fact, they were so destructive that the 

 father had devised every means he could 

 think of to rid the place of their presence. 

 The opinion which this family held 

 about crows is entertained generally by 

 farmers. In almost every community 

 where the crow appears in numbers, the 



