34 THE COMMON CROW. 



boles, and by descending suddenly and tearing the nest to pieces they 

 often succeed in capturing the inmates. 



That this habit is not confined to the Adirondack region is shown by 

 a letter from Allan O. Brooks, of Ohilliwack, British Columbia, in 

 which he says: "In Ontario I have seen Crows working the fields for 

 field-mice nests when the snow was about 6 inches deep and the nests 

 were conspicuous by the round orifice through the snow caused by the 

 warmth of the nest melting the snow above it." 



Among the reports of other correspondents are eighteen or twenty 

 which mention the fact that Crows eat mice. Since these give no 

 additional details, it is unnecessary to do more than refer to them. 



Not in early spring alone does the Crow hunt for the nests of field 

 mice; he is always on the lookout for them, especially during the late 

 spring and summer, when they are more likely to contain young. The 

 Crow's habit of searching for food on the ground, and particularly of 

 poking his bill into bunches of dead vegetation and under the roots 

 of grasses and weeds in pastures and meadows, favors the discovery of 

 these nests. Others are exposed by the mower, and constitute one of 

 the many attractions that draw Crows to the hay field. Crow stomachs 

 taken in July contain about four times as many mice as those taken 

 in June. In meadow lands the mice and their nests are well hidden in 

 June by the luxuriance of the grass, while in July they are exposed 

 when the grass is cut. Besides the meadow mouse or vole (Microtus), 

 remains of the common house mouse ( Mus musculus) were found in many 

 stomachs, and in several cases bones, teeth, and fur of the white-footed 

 mouse (Peromyscus) occurred. In one instance four young Crows from 

 a brood of five had been fed on a jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius). 



In thickly settled districts most of the other natural enemies of 

 mice — hawks, owls, foxes, skunks, and weasels — exist only in small 

 numbers, if at all, and the increase and spread of the house cat only 

 supplies their places in part, and that at the sacrifice of vast numbers 

 of small birds, to which the cat is extremely partial. The capture of 

 each living mouse by the Crow is therefore an act of positive benefit to 

 the agriculturist, and must be given due weight in tvjmg to ascertain 

 the Crow's economic status. 



Crows in captivity evince the greatest relish for inice ; in fact it is 

 doubtful if any other article of food is so attractive. Even newly 

 caged Crows, which refused to eat other food of any kind while watched, 

 laid aside all fear when a mouse was shown them, and would crowd up 

 to the bars and even take the mouse from my fingers, pecking savagely 

 at each other in their eagerness to secure sole possession of the coveted 

 tidbit. This experiment was repeated many times and with different 

 Crows. It seemed impossible to gorge a Crow to such an extent that 

 he would refuse a mouse. When a single mouse was given to several 

 Crows the fortunate one that secured it was compelled to swallow it 

 whole in order to prevent the others from seizing it, but he invariably 



