THE CROW, BIRD CITIZEN OF EVERY LAND 



337 



demonstrated than during the past sea- 

 son, when the crows of Klickitat County, 

 Washington, were attempting to repeat 

 their annual feast in the groves of green 

 almonds at Goodnoe Hills. For several 

 years these birds, roosting in thousands 

 in the hilly country bordering the Colum- 

 bia River, had been growing increasingly 

 bold in their sorties. 



The loss to some growers was ioo per 

 cent, for when a flock of 10,000 or more 

 crows settled in a grove of fifteen acres 

 a few hours' feast would strip the trees. 



Scare-crows had availed nothing and 

 shooting brought only temporary relief. 

 Even sporadic efforts at poisoning, in 

 which carcasses and grain had been used 

 as bait, failed to serve the purpose. A 

 few crows were killed, with the result 

 that the rest studiously avoided the car- 

 casses and the grain, but kept on eating 

 the nuts. 



It was not until some one conceived the 

 idea of feeding the marauders poisoned 

 almonds that relief was gained. Only a 

 few crows were killed by this method, 

 but their comrades had witnessed their 

 fall. Abject despair seemed to seize the 

 mighty host. The flock rose from the 

 grove as a monstrous black cloud, and, 

 with a deafening roar of protesting 

 voices that could be heard for miles, it 

 left Goodnoe Hills. Some almond groves 

 of the Hills were severely damaged, even 

 this year, but in those where a few 

 poisoned almonds had been placed crow 

 damage had been reduced from a possible 

 100 to about 2 per cent. 



A WAR OF CROW EXTERMINATION NOT 



WARRANTED 



Our enormous corn crop has greatly 

 simplified the crow's winter task of mak- 

 ing a living, as the other vegetable food 

 items of the crow constitute by no means 

 a highly nutritious assortment. 



The hardened fruits of dogwood, sour- 

 gum, greenbrier, smilax, Virginia creeper, 

 sumac, poke-weed, a few acorns, and the 

 wax-covered seeds of bayberry, poison 

 ivy, and poison oak constituted the chief 

 sources of food for the North American 

 crows in pre-Columbian times. Today 

 they still get a portion of their suste- 



nance from these sources, and at their 

 winter roosts may be found heavy de- 

 posits of the indigestible portions of 

 these fruits. 



When all is said and done, one is forced 

 to the conclusion that legislation which 

 permits the killing of crows whenever 

 they are doing damage is necessary. Such 

 permission is now granted under the laws 

 of all States in which crows are numer- 

 ous. 



On the other hand, bounty laws that 

 result in the killing of crows in places and 

 at times when they may be doing great 

 good are reactionary. Only in rare cases 

 is it conceivable that drastic control meas- 

 ures for the protection of crops are war- 

 ranted for areas as large as an average 

 State. Misguided efforts that at times 

 gain impetus for nation-wide crow cam- 

 paigns on the pretext that a near or com- 

 plete extermination of the bird would 

 benefit the American farmer cannot be 

 justified if all the evidence is fairly pre- 

 sented. 



THE HUMAN ATTRIBUTES OE THE ROBIN 

 HOODS 01? THE BIRD WORED 



Aside from any economic considera- 

 tions which are sufficient in themselves, 

 the passing of the crow would leave a dis- 

 tinct void in our attractive bird life. Its 

 crimes are many, but its virtues must not 

 be overlooked (see also page 334). 



Who can deny that our Robin Hoods 

 and other adventurous spirits have left 

 us in the story of their lives, though 

 checkered, much that is good and much 

 to be admired? The world would have 

 been poorer without them. To one whose 

 association with the crow has been at all 

 intimate, there comes a bit of the same 

 feeling. 



There is much of human character — 

 fear and boldness, affection and hate, in- 

 genuity, perseverence, and revenge — to be 

 found in the life habits of this interesting 

 bird. Let those who would actually ex- 

 terminate it pause long enough in their 

 efforts to learn more of the crow's real 

 and potential powers in the control of 

 certain pests. Then, and only then, will 

 the general attitude toward the bird be- 

 come an intelligent one. 



