GROUND SQUIRRELS, ETC., EATEN BY CROWS. 35 



disgorged it later and pulled it to pieces. Subsequently the hair, teeth, 

 and some of the bones were disgorged as a pellet precisely as with 

 hawks and owls, although in some cases most of the bones were ground 

 up and entirely digested. It seems probable that this is rendered pos- 

 sible by the large amount of sand or gravel habitually swallowed after 

 every meal, and the great muscular power of the stomach, which is 

 practically a gizzard. 



GROUND SQUIRRELS AND GOPHERS. 



A few fragments of bones identified as those of a ground squirrel, 

 presumably the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) were found in one 

 stomach. In this case it was impossible to tell with certainty whether 

 or not the remains were carrion. The habits of the chipmunk make it 

 improbable that the Crow often captures one alive, and then only in 

 case the animal is very young. In the Mississippi Valley, where the 

 striped ground squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) is abundant, the 

 Crow may capture the young occasionally, but the fact that these ani- 

 mals nest in burrows prevents the Crows from feeding on the young 

 until they are able to run about. 



Mr. William J. Howerton, of Florence, Pinal County, Ariz., states that 

 he has seen the Crow of that region catching and killing the common 

 pocket gopher ( Thomomys). It is probable that this observation relates 

 to the white-necked raven (Corvus cryjptoleucus), as that is the common- 

 est Crow of the region, although the true Crow (Corvus americanus) 

 occurs there during migration. In any case, however, the Crow can not 

 be regarded as an important enemy of this animal, since pocket gophers 

 rarely appear above ground and it is not to be sup posed that Crows 

 are able to unearth them from their burrows. 



One or two correspondents state that Crows destroy the young of 

 arboreal squirrels, and this undoubtedly is true, although it can not be 

 a very common practice. 



BATS, MOLES, AND SHREWS. 



Bones, teeth, and other vestiges of bats, moles, and shrews were 

 found in twelve stomachs, all in May and June. But since the quan- 

 tity of these remains for the year is less than one-tenth of 1 percent, 

 they are of little economic import. It is possible that some of the 

 shrews (remains of four individuals were found) may have been killed 

 by the Crows, but it is much more likely that they were found dead, 

 as must have been the case with the moles (Scalops aquaticus), two 

 specimens of which were represented. Bats' bones or teeth occurred 

 in six stomachs, but four of these stomachs belonged to nestlings of a 

 single brood, and the remains were those of only a single bat. 



