56 



RECREATION. 



spine, even to-day when the ice is on all. 

 the waters. 



E. C. Frost, South Framingham, Mass. 



There are 4 kinds of fishes that make the 

 same noise as a woodpecker, namely, the 

 sucker, the redhorse, the carp and the buffa- 

 lo. They get under a boom, bark, a barge, 

 etc., and cause the noise by sucking. How- 

 ever, I have noticed that their tappings are 

 slower than a woodpecker's. That is one 

 way these fishes feed. I ljave had a 

 good chance to know as I have seen them 

 with half their bodies out under a house- 

 boat and have heard the constant tap- 

 ping. Some old rivermen claim they 

 even pull the calking out of barges. 



Albert Roberge, San Francisco, Cal. 



In answer to Mr. Covert, in March Rec- 

 reation, I have heard that peculiar sound 

 he speaks of. and have always found it to 

 be made by the fish called sucker. If Mr. 

 Covert were here and would take a run 

 over the logs stored in the different bays 

 on Black river he would find many oppor- 

 tunities to see and hear for himself. He 

 would see suckers swimming alongside a log 

 striking it with their mouth, thus produc- 

 ing the sound he spoke of. They swim on 

 their sides while feeding among logs, and 

 on their backs under driftwood. 



Frank Schaller, La Crosse, Wis. 



I used to fish a great deal and one day 

 I was attracted by the same kind of noise 

 described by Mr. T. F. Covert in March 

 Recreation. I investigated and found the 

 noise came from just such a place as he 

 describes. I watched a while and then 

 dropping my baited hook where I saw the 

 disturbance, I pulled out a large sucker. 

 Whenever I saw a similar agitation 

 going on thereafter I dropped my hook and 

 pulled out another sucker. In time I caught 

 9. I have seen the same thing a great 

 many times since. 



N. H. Uttie, Elmwood, Wis. 



The peculiar noise Mr. T. F. Covert 

 heard under the foam, dirt, etc., in Little 

 Beaver creek was caused by the common 

 sucker. While I do not favor shooting fish, 

 if Mr. Covert will take his gun next sum- 

 mer and shoot at the place where the move- 

 ment of foam and the noise are I think he 

 will get a sucker. I do not know why 

 suckers do this, but think they are feeding. 

 I find the noise they make is similar to 

 that made by placing the tongue to the 

 roof of the mouth and removing it forcibly. 

 J. Drueg, Elgin, Minn. 



The sound referred to by Mr. T. F. 

 Covert in March Recreation was proba- 

 bly made by a turtle of some kind. I have 

 several times heard similar sounds near old 

 logs or where drift had collected and, on 

 investigating, I have found one or more 



snapping turtles (Emysaurus serpentina) 

 frolicking around and feasting on the in- 

 sects which gather about such places. 



C. C. Manley, Milton, Vt. 



In March Recreation Mr. T. F. Covert 

 says he would like to know the cause of the 

 pecking he heard while fishing. I have 

 had similar experience and on investigating 

 I found it to be the work of squirrels. Have 

 since been told it was so. It attracted my 

 attention while camping last summer and I, 

 like Mr. Covert, thought it was a wood- 

 pecker. F. B. T., Syracuse, N. Y. 



In regard to the tapping described by Mr. 

 T. F. Covert, I have heard a sound similar 

 to it and on investigation I have found it 

 was made by turtles, feeding. They swim 

 under moss, weeds, or such debris as Mr. 

 Covert describes, with just the end of nose 

 out of water, and snap at bugs, flies, etc., 

 with a decided snapping sound. 



Geo. E. Blackford, Algona, Iowa. 



The noise Mr. Covert heard was made by 

 German carp sucking the scum on top of 

 the water and around logs, driftwood,, etc. 

 1 have speared them in the act and have 

 dropped a hook in their mouths. If Mr. 

 Covert will be quiet while watching them 

 he will often see their round yellow mouths 

 taking the scum. 



F. D. Gardner, Brodhead, Wis. 



If Mr. T. F. Covert will watch closely the 

 next time he goes near that driftwood I 

 think he will find that the tapping sound 

 he mentions is made by suckers or red- 

 horse feeding on the old driftwood. 



I. N. Hardy, Central City, Colo. 



Say to Mr. T. F. Covert that those 

 strange sounds he heard while fishing in 

 Little Beaver creek are caused by suckers 

 feeding on the moss and sediment that ad- 

 here to the drift. 



Levi Ballard, Paonia, Colo. 



The noise that mystified Mr. Covert was 

 made by a fish of the sucker variety. 



J. L. Whinery, Marshalltown, Iowa. 



MURDEROUS CROWS. 

 In February Recreation someone asks if 

 any reader knows the habits of crows. In 

 Indiana we have many crows. I am not a 

 friend of the black thief, as we call them, 

 because^ they steal the bait that we use to 

 trap minks and skunks. Crows are wise 

 and cunning. They are fond of young 

 squirrels, birds and rabbits. I was brought 

 up on a farm near heavy woods, where I 

 could learn the habits of crows. I have 

 seen an old female crow find a squirrel's 

 nest with the young in it and catch 

 them. She would stick her head in 

 the nest, take them out, and feed 



