* 
1886.] Crow Roosts and Roosting Crows. 785 
be heard a mile away half an hour before dawn, although they do 
not begin to disperse till an hour later. 
At intervals of half a minute, a certain crow usually relieves 
the monotony of cawing by making a melodious sound which is 
inimitable and somewhat resembles the noise made by a porter 
bottle when skimming swiftly over an expanse of ice. 
It has no kinship to cawing, but a semblance to the hollow 
love-notes of Scops asio, shortened into an utterance of two syl- 
lables, 
Tam persuaded that not one of a thousand crows is able or 
privileged to utter this sound, having often listened in their very 
midst for an hour without hearing more than three individuals 
making such. This either implies that one crow differeth from 
another crow in natural accomplishments, or that there is a 
recognition of chief speakership among them. Possibly it means 
oth. Another sound is the invariable accompaniment of “ going 
to bed,” and judging by its frequence it is not restricted to the 
few. This, according to a note taken on the spot, is “ a strange 
noise as of a person choking or being strangled to death, or like 
Sound of chicken when caught” and suspended by its neck. 
This terribly suggestive note is alone sufficient to keep timid and 
Superstitious people away from such haunts. 
In early-morning conversations on the roost we can hear the 
Sreatest variety of notes. One of the most notable of these re- 
sembles laughing in its hilarity of tone, and sounds something 
like garrick or cla-a-a-a-arick by trilling the a’s and r’s at a high, 
feminine pitch of voice. It has kinship to the familiar ejaculation 
ofa strawberry woman in the city street. 
Another utterance consists in prolonged clucking as of a hen: 
clăüŭüŭück, or clu-ŭh-ŭh-ŭh-ŭh-ŭh-ck, or, as my field notes have it, 
“it sounds like a hen trying to gargle.” Individual peculiarities 
of voice arising perhaps from derangement of the vocal organs 
are often amusing. 
I may not soon forget that of a crow in the Merchantville roost 
ch ceased not to cry at intervals of half a minute, “ oh wait, 
oh wait,” in a piteous tone, laying peculiar emphasis on “ wait,” 
as if upbraiding its companions for leaving it, which they were 
actually doing at the time. 
Whilst lying on the ground observing the actions of this noisy 
Multitude I began “ cawing ” after the usual fashion of the birds 
