AMERICAN CROW 
'^1 "'WO close relatives there are which, like the 
poor, are always with us — ^the crow and the 
blue jay. Both are mischievous rascals, extraor- 
dinarily clever, with the most highly developed 
brains that any of our birds possess. Some men 
of science believe that, because of their brain 
power, they rightly belong at the head of the 
bird class where the thrushes now stand; but 
who wishes to see a family of songless rogues 
awarded the highest honours of the class 
Avesf 
No bird is so well known to ‘‘every child,” 
so admired by artists, so hated by farmers, 
as the crow, who flaps his leisurely way above 
the cornfields with a caw for friend and foe 
alike, not caring the least for anyone’s opinion 
of him, good or bad. Perhaps he knows his 
own true worth better than the average farmer, 
who has persecuted him with bounty laws, shot- 
gun, and poison for generations. The crow 
keeps no account of the immense numbers 
of grubs and larvee he picks up as he walks after 
the plough every spring, nor does the far- 
mer, who nevertheless counts the corn stolen 
as fast as it is planted, and as fast as it ripens, 
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