CROW ROOSTS IN NEBRASKA. 19 



about 2 miles north of here. It is in a thick beech wood of perhaps 50 

 acres. I reached the place at about half past 4, and in a few moments 

 the Orows began to arrive. They came in five 'streams' — from the 

 north, northeast, northwest, south, and southeast. Soon the trees 

 were black with them, and the noise they made was almost deafening. 

 After being shot at several times they all congregated in one corner of 

 the wood, and when shot at again left the trees and settled on the 

 ground in the neighboring fields. They were now so badly scared that 

 it was impossible to get within gunshot, so throwing myself on the 

 ground to be as near as possible out of sight, I began to imitate as 

 well as I could, the cawing of a Grow. Almost immediately they 

 answered, and every Crow in the field came circling over me. At 

 first they were perhaps 200 feet in the air. They all would caw as 

 loudly as possible for perhaps a half minute, then they would be still. 

 If answered, they would come lower and caw again. It was so near 

 dark I suppose they could not see me, and at last they were within 20 

 or 30 feet of the ground. I shot and they flew away, but returned as 

 soon as I began to imitate them again. At last they all departed for 

 another woods." 



The following description of roosts in eastern Nebraska has been 

 condensed from an article on this subject by W. Edgar Taylor, 1 of the 

 State Normal School, Peru, Nebr. : 



Some twenty-five or thirty years ago, in the early settlement of 

 Nebraska, the Crow (Corvus americanus) was a rare bird, even on the 

 Missouri, where now it is so very abundant as to attract the attention 

 of the most careless observer. It is stated by many old residents that 

 it appeared in eastern Nebraska about twenty-five years ago, and at 

 the same time the Raven (C. corax sinuatus) and the Magpie (Pica pica 

 hudsonica) began to disappear, and that the Orows have been increas- 

 ing continually since. It has been their habit about the last of Sep- 

 tember to select some suitable point for roosting, usually some grove 

 of willows on an island in the Missouri. This roost is retained till 

 about the first of May, when they again disperse till the coming Sep- 

 tember or October. 



I have observed their habits at a roost near Peru, Nebr. The prin- 

 cipal part of this roost is on McKissicks Island, on the Missouri side 

 of the Missouri River, about 2 miles above Peru. Another roost exists 

 on Hogthief Island, some 5 miles above Peru, as well as a smaller 

 roost on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, about a mile above 

 Peru. Another roost is said to exist 10 miles north of Hogthief Island, 

 and we have reason to believe that others will be found along the river 

 within the State. 



All the roosts in Nebraska, so far as definitely known, are in willows 

 large enough to sustain the weight of the Orows. We have heard of 

 several roosts thought to be in oaks and other trees. 



1 Annual Rept. Nebraska State Board Agriculture for 1887, pp. 119-120. 



