THE CROW BLACKBIRD. 59 



Mr. C. J. Maynard repeats the charges of depredations in the corn- 

 field, but contends that their trait of robbing nests of other birds is by 

 far the worst damage they do. He says: 



They will visit the homes of those species which build in accessible situations and 

 deliberately remove the eggs or, what is more to be deplored, the helpless young and 

 devour them in spite of the cries of the distracted parents who are powerless to pre- 

 vent the outrage. * * * So frequently were these depredations committed upon 

 the homes of the Robins and other birds, that built about my place this season, that 

 there was scarcely an hour in the day during early summer when I could not hear 

 the warning cries of the adult birds, followed by the harsh, scolding notes of the 

 Crow Blackbird as he was vigorously attacked on all sides, but he seldom retreated 

 without accomplishing his purpose. Such continuous slaughter must greatly thin 

 the ranks of the birds that are thus robbed and it will be safe to say that the Purple 

 Grackles destroy more birds than all the other predatory species combined. * * * 



In Florida * * * they also eat a variety of food. In early Winter large flocks 

 may be seen on the tops of the palmettos, feeding on the fruit, and they also eat 

 berries in their season. Later small flocks are found on the margin of streams, fre- 

 quently wading into them in search of little mollusks, crabs, etc., and it is not rare 

 to meet with one or two scattering individuals in the thick hummocks, overturning 

 the leaves in order to find insects or small reptiles Avhich they devour. I once saw 

 one catch a lizard which was crawling over the fan-like frond of a palmetto, and fly 

 with it to the ground. The rei^tile squirmed all the while in its frantic endeavors to 

 escape, but the Blackbird held it firmly and, after beating it to death, removed the 

 skin as adroitly as if accvistomed to the operation, then swallowed the body.^ 



Dr. B. H. Warren says as a result of his investigations of the food 

 of the crow blackbird: 



In the wake of the plowman, as he turns the crumbling earth, closely follow the 

 argus-eyed Grackles, ever on the alert to seize the wriggling worm, the agile beetle, 

 or the glistening grub, and the numerous larvx thrown out as each furrow is turned. 

 Certainly, at this season our sable acquaintances are engaged only in that which will 

 prove of utility to the cultivator when his croj)S are growing. We repeatedly hear 

 of how the blackbirds tear up and devour the yomig and growing corn. This, 

 unquestionably, is sometimes the case, but I am confident that the destruction thus 

 done is much exaggerated. I am aware that on more than one occasion I have seen 

 the tender blades of corn lying on the groimd where were actively at work Crow 

 Blackbirds, a number of which were shot, and on a post-mortem dissection their 

 stomachs revealed almost entirely insects. Some six years ago I was visitingia friend 

 who had thirty-odd acres of corn (maize) planted. Quite a number of "blackies," as 

 he styled them, were plying themselves with great activity about the growing cereal. 

 We shot thirty-one of these birds feeding in the corn field. Of this number nineteen 

 showed only cui-ivorms in their stomachs. The number of cut-worms in each, of 

 course, varied, but as many as twenty-two were taken from one stomach. In seven 

 some corn was found, in connection with a very large excess of insects, to wit: Beetles 

 earth-worms, and cut-worms. The remaining five showed chiefly beetles. * * * 



Strawberries, blackberries and other fruits are fed upon, but to a very limited 

 extent, by this species. The diet of the young birds, while under parental care, is 

 almost exclusively insectivorous, consisting mainly of caterpillars and grubs. 



It is a well-established fact that they are given to pillaging the eggs of other birds, 

 especially the common Robin. Gentry, however, states that they destroy the young 

 of birds, a fact, as yet, unobserved by the writer. ^ 



^ Birds of Eastern N. A., pp. 149-150, 1881. 

 ^ Birds of Pa., revised ed., pp. 221-222, 1890. 



