THE CROW, BIRD CITIZEN OF EVERY LAND 





thereafter an overhanging tree was his 

 nearest approach to the patch. 



For a week or more the cabbages pros- 

 pered wonderfully, but one day, as the 

 neighbor was busily engaged in his cellar, 

 he heard coming from the patch a "swish, 

 swish" that strongly suggested the tear- 

 ing of cabbage leaves. On rushing to the 

 door he beheld "Jack," flying a few feet 

 from the ground and with leisurely wing 

 beats traveling up and down the rows. 

 Behind him, in mad pursuit and with 

 utter disregard for his master's prize cab- 

 bages, was the neighbor's own dog. 



Another exasperating trick, but one 

 that seems to reveal the crow's love of 

 pure devilment, is related by Mr. Wood, 

 and I believe the account of a similar in- 

 cident has appeared in literature. In 

 these cases the crows amused themselves 

 by pulling all the clothes-pins off the line 

 just after the week's washing had been 

 put out. 



THOUSANDS OF BIRDS' STOMACHS MUST BE 

 STUDIED 



Two underlying factors make the crow, 

 economically speaking, one of our most 

 important birds. It is abundant and it is 

 large. Birds, on the whole, require a vol- 

 ume of food in direct ratio to the size of 

 their bodies, and no one has yet advanced 

 the theory that crows are modest or re- 

 strained when dining. It follows, then, 

 that what facts are determined regarding 

 the character of the crow's food habits 

 must be given more than ordinary con- 

 sideration. Even a minor food habit of 

 a bird so voracious and numerous as the 

 one under discussion may have most im- 

 portant influences for good or harm. 



How, then, it is asked, can one know to 

 the point of exactness the food prefer- 

 ences of the crow? This is a most log- 

 ical question. Ornithological literature is 

 burdened with generalities regarding the 

 food of birds — yes, and, I may add, inac- 

 curacies- — copied verbatim from some 

 earlier writer, who in turn has simply 

 served to pass ttje word along, so that 

 today one can find many of Audubon's 

 statements still doing overtime duty. 



No element of disparagement of Au- 

 dubon's work, which when published was 

 the most exact of its kind, is implied by 

 this statement ; but modern necessity de- 



mands, and is rapidly securing, results 

 far more accurate than the data secured 

 by the field ornithologists of the early 

 days. 



The method employed involves exten- 

 sive and intensive examination of the 

 stomach contents of the birds under in- 

 vestigation. In this work the United 

 States, through the agency of the U. S. 

 Biological Survey, now leads the world. 



No one, however, has ever looked upon 

 economic ornithology, even in its most 

 modern form, as one of the exact sci- 

 ences. In dealing with birds we are deal- 

 ing with living creatures — vivacious, 

 whimsical, often erratic creatures — that 

 sometimes seem never to do the same 

 thing twice. But experience has shown 

 that the benevolent law of averages, when 

 applied even to a series of examined bird 

 stomachs, produces results that are so 

 close an approximation to the truth that 

 the addition of large quantities of ma- 

 terial fails to affect appreciably the result. 

 Thus the greater the material, the more 

 accurate the result. 



In the case of the crow 2,118 stomachs, 

 collected in 39 of our States, the District 

 of Columbia, and some of the Canadian 

 provinces, were available, and of these 

 778 were of nestling birds. This is the 

 third largest quantity of stomach material 

 ever used in the study of the food habits' 

 of a single species of bird. 



THE CROW ENJOYS A VARIED MENU 



The crow is primarily a terrestrial 

 feeder and a most resourceful one. More 

 than 625 specifically different items are 

 at present known to furnish it sustenance. 

 Herein lies the reason that it can survive 

 the rigors of winter, and. when the hal- 

 cyon days of early summer arrive, it 

 knows also how to live and rear its young 

 in true avian opulence. And the young, 

 let me assure you, never languish for 

 want of proper food, either in kind or 

 quantity. 



About 28 per cent of the animal food 

 of the adult crow is secured from the 

 animal kingdom and from fully a dozen 

 different groups in that kingdom. In ad- 

 dition to such lowly organized creatures 

 as earthworms, it secures nourishment 

 also from crustaceans, all the common 

 orders of insects, spiders, snails, and 



