DESTRUCTION OF SEA URCHINS. 55 



cent each of setie of earthworms, but as these were associated with 

 the remains of a shrew, a snake, a frog, and a newt, all of which ani- 

 mals (with the possible exception of the snake) are known to eat earth- 

 worms with avidity, it seems probable that the earthworm bristles may 

 have been derived from the stomach of one of the included animals. It 

 is a noteworthy fact that Crows in following the plow have been seen 

 to leave the earthworms untouched, although greedily eating white 

 grubs and other larvae exposed in the furrow. Moreover, according to 

 my experience, Crows in confinement usually refuse earthworms, and 

 never show any great relish for them. Young Crows repeatedly rejected 

 earthworms when put in their mouths, and unless pushed far down 

 their throats they absolutely refused to swallow them. 



As illustrating the fondness of the Crow for food hidden within hard 

 outer coverings or shells, and the further fact that a given item may 

 form a large part of a Crow's food in one part of the country and not in 

 another, the following note by J. Walter Fewkes ' is of interest: 



".Near Eastport, Me., there is known to be a considerable deposit of 

 the broken tests and half decomposed soft parts of our common New 

 England sea urchins (#. drcebachiensis) far removed above the level of 

 high water. 



" This deposit is formed in the main of fragments of the solid tests of 

 these echinoderms, which are said to have been carried there alive by 

 Crows, which frequent the locality in great numbers." 



1 The Auk, Vol. I, 1884, p. 92. 



