TESTIMONY RESPECTING INSECT FOOD. 69 



noticed them limiting insects in a meadow after the grass was 2 or 3 inches high, 

 and of course from that time until it is cut is the time that insects damage it most. 

 1892. 



Nebraska. — J. D. Kuster: Crows have fed extensively on locusts this year. 1885. 



Iowa, Wapello. — D. C. Beanian: It will feed on all kinds of grubs and worms 

 which are thrown out by the plow. 1886. 



Louisiana, Abbeville. — W. W. Edwards: I nave not observed them eating any 

 insects except the larva? and grubs, on which they feed extensively in the spring on 

 fresh-plowed ground. I am not able to say what larvsB they feed on. 1886. 



Bayou Goula. — W. C. Percy: It has been observed to eat locusts, but I have never 

 been able to find any other insect in its stomach except grubs, etc. 1885. 



Maine, Xorth Livermore. — George H. Berry: The Crow eats grasshoppers, potato 

 bugs, and Clisiocampa larva 3 . 1886. 



Massachusetts, Amherst. — Hubert L. Clark: I believe that the Crow is largely 

 insectivorous. It frequents marshes and open fields in search of food in large flocks, 

 where it destroys large quantities of grubs, particularly those of the common June 

 bug (Lachnosterna fusca), grasshoppers, and locusts. It also destroys cutworms. 

 1885. 



-East Templeton. — Charles E. Ingalls: I have seen the Crow eat grasshoppers and 

 have also seen it feed on a large white grub taken from the ground in old fields. 

 1885. 



Michigan, Hudson. — A. H. Boies: I have often observed it seeking for grubs and 

 other larvae in the spring, and know that it is a great destroyer of such when other 

 forage is scarce. 1885. 



Liekleys Corners. — A. H. Carver: I have known them to follow the plow in the 

 spring and pick up cutworms and the large white grub. 1886. 



Thornville. — John S. Caulkins : The following statement relative to Crows eating 

 cutworms was given me by a friend, William B. Sutton, of Lapeer. He said he had 

 plowed and dragged a piece of old sod and noticed that a flock of Crows were fre- 

 quenting it. Sharing to some extent the hostility the farmers generally feel toward 

 the Crows on account of the damage they do to corn, he concealed himself with his 

 loaded shotgun in a corner of the fence, close to where the Crows worked, thinking 

 to shoot a few and hang them up as a terror to the rest. When the crows came he 

 distinctly saw them turn over the sods, shake them to pieces, and eat the cutworms 

 that fell out. He came away without shooting, and since then has been the pro- 

 fessed friend of the Crow. 1886. 



Nebraska, London. — George A. Coleman: In May and June we find him following 

 the plow, seeking earthworms, insects, and mice. His favorite food is the larva of 

 the June bug (Lachnosterna fusca), which he finds in great abundance. 1888. 



New Hampshire, Webster. — Charles F. Goodhue: At this season Crows are of some 

 benefit to the farmer, as they feed mostly on grasshoppers. To-day (August 22, 1885), 

 a flock of nearly 100 were observed in a pasture badly infested with grasshoppers, 

 upon which they were evidently feeding. 



New Jersey, MerchantviUe. — Edward Burrough : The Crow ought not to be con- 

 demned for it is one of our best insectivorous birds. It eats the June bug and the 

 larvae of any insect plowed up in the spring, such as white grubs and cutworms. 



New York, Alfred Center. — F. S. Place: Crows destroy insects. Several speci- 

 mens taken by me last spring (1886) had their stomachs filled with insects, mostly 

 Coleoptera. 



Boonrille. — Morris M. Green: Near Boonville I have seen the Crow feeding on 

 grasshoppers during the summer months. Some fields seemed to be fairly black 

 with the birds pursuing the grasshoppers in every direction. One day, noticing a 

 flock of Crows frequenting a particular field, I visited the place and found that the 

 roots of the grass had been completely eaten away, so that the sod or turf could be 



