16 



THE GAME BREEDER 



GAME ENEMIES— THE CROW 



A Biological Investigation. 



The Bureau of Biological Survey of 

 the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture has undertaken to procure infor- 

 mation about the crow and has issued a 

 circular which is printed below. We 

 have long entertained the opinion that 

 some if not all crows were enemies of 

 game birds and we have had consider- 

 able correspondence with • ornithologists 

 and sportsmen on this subject. 



We wish to ask our readers to con- 

 tribute to an investigation which we shall 

 make in order that we may contribute to 

 the proposed bulletin of the Agricultural 

 Department. We print in this issue a 

 few of the opinions gathered by Mr. 

 Forbush, the New England Agent ,of the 

 Audubon Association, and an observa- 

 tion made at the preserve of The Game 

 Breeders' Association last summer. The 

 circular issued by The Bureau of Bio- 

 logical Survey is as follows: 

 Dear Sir: 



In 1895 the Biological Survey issued 

 a bulletin on the economic value of the 

 crow, the supply of which was long since 

 exhausted. The interest shown in the 

 subject, and the changes which have 

 taken place in the character and extent 

 of agricultural activities in the period 

 of 16 years, have been so great as to call 

 for further consideration of the subject. 

 In resuming the investigation, it is de- 

 sired to secure information in regard to 

 several new phases of the problem. 

 There is still a decided lack of accurate 

 information regarding the economic 

 value of the crow, especially in the re- 

 gion of the upper Mississippi Valley, 

 ^nd the appended questions have been 

 framed so as to secure additional data 

 on the more important facts. 



While the proposed bulletin will treat 

 primarily of the food habits of the com- 

 mon crow, similar information is desired 

 in regard to the fish crow, a smaller 

 species living along the Atlantic coast 

 south of Long Island, and of the ravens, 

 which are more abundant in the West 

 and Southwest. 



The examination of a large number of 

 crow's stomachs, secured in various lo- 

 calities and under varying conditions, is 

 essential before the food habits of this 

 bird can be accurately determined. If 

 only a small proportion of the stomachs 

 of the thousands of crows killed annually 

 for bounty were available, they would 

 assist materially in establishing the eco- 

 nomic status of the bird. We are very 

 anxious to secure material of this kind 

 and desire correspondence with persons 

 willing to collect stomachs for us. 



A franked envelope is inclosed for re- 

 turn of answer. 



All communications should be ad- 

 dressed to the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey, Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Very truly yours, 

 HENRY W. HENSHAW, 

 Chief, Biological Survey. 

 Approved : 



JAMES WILSON, 



vSecretary of Agriculture. 



( I ) Are there any crow roosts in your 

 vicinity where the birds congregate in 

 large numbers during the winter 

 months? If so, describe them briefly, 

 noting the approximate number of birds, 

 acreage of the roosts, and characteristic 



vegetation 



(2) Is the crow numerous in your 

 vicinity during spring and summer?. . . . 



(3) Does it inflict serious damage 

 upon corn, either when sprouting or 

 when in the shock, and does it appear to 

 be as troublesome in your locality as it 

 was 15 years ago? 



(4) Do farmers in your locality resort 

 to the practice of tarring seed corn ? If 

 so, how successfully has it protected the 

 crop 



,.? 



(5) Do crows destroy much poultry 

 and many eggs, and does the habit aj>- 

 pear to be confined to a few individuals, 

 or is it a more or less characteristic trait 

 of all crows in your vicinity? 



(6) To what extent can the reduction 



