THE AUDUBON BULLE Digs 
Go 
tre 

Crows Not So Black as They 
Are Painted 
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Office of the Secretary 
ROWS have recently been roundly condemned in numerous sports- 
men’s periodicals and newspapers because of their destructive- 
ness to other bird life, especially game birds. The articles, which 
were based on information gathered on the coastal islands of Virginia by 
an expedition financed by a well-known ammunition company, have 
made a profound impression in many quarters. Under emphasis on 
peculiar local conditions, however, together with lack of distinction be- 
tween the common crow and the fish crow and a faulty interpretation of 
the evidence at hand, has conveyed a grossly exaggerated and wholly 
erroneous idea of the predatory habits of the crow, according to special- 
ists of the Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture. 
That the situation is by no means so serious as pictured 1s apparent 
from statements in the articles that the Virginia islands mentioned 
abound in game and are the favorite nesting places of large numbers of 
marsh birds. The whole district also 1s, and has been for many genera- 
tions, one of the favorite hunting places of the East. 
There is no question that on these Virginia islands the fish crow and 
the smaller numbers of the common crow present are to be seen at their 
worst, as regards their relation to other birds. These objectionable traits 
have been given due consideration in the efforts of the Biological Survey 
to appraise correctly the economic worth of the crow. Such activities, 
however, must be placed in their true perspective, and evidence secured 
under peculiar local conditions can not serve as a basis for a universal 
estimation of the species. 
Government experts state that the bird to blame for most of the 
vandalism on the Virginia islands is the fish crow, a species quite differ- 
ent in habits from the common crow. While mention has been made of 
this fact in the articles referred to, the difference is frequently lost sight 
of and the whole race of crows is condemned by the evidence obtained 
largely against the maritime species. 
The number of eggs of other birds reported to have been found under 
crow nests also has been emphasized. Under a right interpretation, this 
evidence will have a less serious meaning, so far as other bird life is con- 
cerned. Scientists state that breeding birds readily replenish losses due 
to egg destruction, and under the conditions described the production 
