58 THE COMMON CROW. 



intrusted to me by Dr. 0. V. Riley, then United States Entomologist. 

 Owing to the large bulk represented by the majority of the stomach 

 contents, and more especially to the comminuted condition of the insect 

 remains, the work of examining and determining was much more tedious 

 and progressed much slower than was anticipated. In the often times 

 difficult determination of minute fragments I have been greatly assisted 

 by the other members of the division of entomology, and more especially 

 by Messrs. William H. Ashmead and Theo. Pergande. 



A detailed list of the contents of each stomach has been prepared, 

 enumerating systematically the various species of insects found and 

 giving the number of specimens. This list forms the basis of the fol- 

 lowing generalizations regarding the food habits of Corvus americanus, 

 so far as the insects are concerned: 



1. The insect food of Crows is almost exclusively composed of ter- 

 restrial species, i. e., such as are found on the surface of the ground, or 

 hide during the daytime at the base of plants or under the various 

 objects lying on the surface; or such as live in the dung of domestic 

 animals, in decaying vegetable and animal matter, or underground. 



There is not the slightest indication that Crows catch any insects 

 while on the wing, and the almost complete absence of the numerous 

 arboreal insects of all orders, i. e., such insects as are to be found on, or 

 which live on the trunks, limbs, or leaves of trees and shrubs, indicates 

 that the birds when sitting or resting on trees do not pick up insects.. 



The almost constant presence of coprophagous insects in the stom- 

 achs indicates that Crows preferably frequent dry pasture lands, dry 

 meadows, or very open woods, where cattle or horses are grazing. In 

 many instances the presence of certain species of Chlcenius, water bee- 

 tles, or an occasional aquatic Hemipter or a Gryllotalpa or Corydalus, 

 etc., shows that the birds frequent the margins of ponds or streams, 

 while in a number of other instances the presence of the larvae of Lach- 

 nosterna, Elaterida3, etc., proves that the Crows have followed the 

 plow of the farmer. Many of the terrestrial insects eaten by Crows 

 abound during the warmer season in cultivated fields, more especially 

 in corn and clover fields, and have no doubt been picked up by the 

 birds in such localities. 



2. The insect food of the Crow consists only of large or medium-sized 

 insects ; small species are only rarely, if ever, picked up. The smallest 

 insects found are certain species of Aphodius. Ants form a marked 

 exception to this rule, as small, or very small, species are frequently 

 found in many stomachs. 



3. The Crow appears to prefer insects with a hard covering to the 

 more soft-bodied ones. Thus the number of the hard imagos of Cara 

 bidse, Elateridae, Scaraba?ida3, Curculionida?, and Acridiidae enormously 

 exceeds that of the Coleopterous, Lepidopterous, and Dipterous larvse 

 found in the stomachs, and no soft-bodied imagos (a few Diptera 

 excepted) seem to be eaten. In many instances, however, this pecu- 



