f 



AMERICAN CROW 235 



A quarter of a mile down-stream it occurred again, thus : 



and near by still less of a track, 



C^" 1 (f but marks as if it had pecked in 



«• IIIIU the snow. Could it be the track 



ty/iiiw °^ a crow w ith its toes unusually 



close together ? Or was it an owl? 1 



Feb. 1, 1856. Nut Meadow Brook open for some 

 distance in the meadow. ... I see where a crow has 

 walked along its side. In one place it hopped, and its 

 feet were side by side, as in the track of yesterday, 

 though a little more spread, the toes. I have but 

 little doubt that yesterday's track was a crow's. 

 The two inner toes are near together ; the mid- 

 dle, more or less curved often. 



Feb. 6, 1856. Goodwin says that he has caught two 

 crows this winter in his traps set in water for mink, 

 and baited with fish. The crows, probably put to it for 

 food and looking along the very few open brooks, at- 

 tracted by this bait, got their feet into the traps. 



Feb. 27, 1857. I see many crows on the hillside, with 

 their sentinel on a tree. They are picking the cow- 

 dung scattered about, apparently for the worms, etc., 

 it contains. They have done this in so many places that 

 it looks as if the farmer had been at work with his 

 maul. They must save him some trouble thus. 2 



Sept. 30, 1857. I was telling him 3 how some crows 

 two or three weeks ago came flying with a scolding caw 



1 Probably a crow. Vide Feb. 1st. Hardly a doubt of it. [The crow, 

 though habitually a -walker, sometimes hops when in a particular 

 hurry.] 



' Notice the like extensively early in March, 1860. 



8 [George Minott.] 



