SOME OHIO BIRDS 
41 
While in the breeding- range, the animal matter, largely insect, 
amounts to 86.2 percent of the food eaten, the remainder being made 
up of weed seeds. The young are entirely insectivorous while in the 
nest. During the migration, this species causes a loss to the rice 
growers of the South, estimated at $2,000,000. The wild rice upon 
which the bird once fed has given place to the cultivated crop, and 
this restricted area lies in the path of migration over which thous¬ 
ands of these birds pass twice each year. In the South, they are 
known as Rice birds, and great numbers are annually slaughtered. 
The Bobolink is deserving of protection in its breeding range. 
AMERICAN CROW, Coi-vus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos Brehm. 
The Crow is one of the most conspicuous birds of the rural dis¬ 
tricts. It is common over the state, except in the northern por¬ 
tion during severe weather. Their cunning in evading the ruses of 
the most skillful gunner, and their shrewdness, when in captivity, 
indicate a high degree of intelligence. 
Their food consists of both animal and vegetable substances in 
great variety.—insects, spiders, earth worms, snakes, frogs, lizards, 
small turtles, fish, snails, crawfish, mice, carrion, and the eggs and 
young of smaller birds. Their good and harmful qualities are about 
equally balanced. 
Bi_UE JAY, Cyanocttta ci'istata cristata (Linn.) 
Its large size, brigh + plumage and loud notes, make the Blue Jay 
one of the most conspicuous of our birds. It is a common bird over 
the state, but is of more frequent occurrence in the northern part. 
It is one of the most familiar birds of the home grounds, both in 
town and country, but is met with away from habitations as well. 
The loud, varied notes are much in evidence during the spring, fall 
and winter, but are conspicuously absent in summer. Through its 
thefts of the young and eggs of other birds, it has made for itself an 
unenviable reputation. This is probably an individual trait, and not 
characteristic of the race as a whole. 
The food is 24 percent animal and 76 percent vegetable matter. 
The animal food consists of mice, fish, salamanders, snails and 
crustaceans, which, with eggs and young of birds, amounts to but one 
percent; the remainder of the animal portion being made up of 
beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and other insects, 19 percent of 
which are noxious. Their favorite food is mast, acorns, beech nuts 
and chestnuts, and amounts to 42 percent of the food for the year. 
Wild fruits are also eaten, and in the fall a little corn is taken, com¬ 
prising in September, 15 percent of its food, and thereafter con¬ 
stantly diminishing. The larger part of the corn eaten is waste 
grain, and ot no use to the farmer. 
