The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-06-08
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WINGED SCAvENGERS.
How tho Crows Are Respected in Omshs
for Their Good Works.


How the crows Are Respected in omshs
for Their Good Works.
The CITY of Omaha has in its service
a force of thousands of scavengers who
draw no pay, report to no official, but
are protected by law from molestation.
They are the crows who flock in'town
as regularly as cold weather comes,
stay during the winter and vanish in
the spring. Each evening as the shad-
ows fall legions of crows wing their
way in seemingly endless flight to
the willow copses and clumps of small
cottonwood trees on the banks OF the
Missouri, where they roost for the
night. A favorite haunt is at the bend
of the river between Cutoff and Flor
ence Lakes where the banks shelter
the northwest wind. The air is thick
with sable wings and resonant with
hoarse caws there after sunset each
night, as the scavengers settle down
among the branches to dream of back
area lunches and carrion spreads
With the break of day the sable flock
bestirs itself. Each member hops
about to warm its chilled legs, stretches
its shiny wings and heads back toward
the city. The vast flock breaks into
small groups and they alight here and
there on the tree-tops and survey the
back yards and alleys until they can
pick out foraging places. Then they
descend and in short order the remains
of the breakfasts, the scraps OF meat
from markets and the rats killed by
household dogs and cats are gobbled
up. Some crows do scavenger work
about the residences. Others alight
cautiously in the alleys, and others are
attracted to the stock-yards and pack
ing-houses at South Omaha. They
fight shy of the business blocks. The
crow who inhabits the Missouri is of
the same breed with the crow who
pulls up the farmers corn in Vermont.
In the East he is a nuisance. The
granger shoots him on sight, tries to
frighten him with scarecrows and dips
the corn into coal tar before he plants
it, in the hopes that it will spoil the
pretty ravens appetite. Two healthy
New England crows can devastate a
twenty-acre corn field if unmolested.
But the crow who migrates to the
West becomes respected resident,
and nobody asks, "What was your
name back Eastp" or asks how he
stood with the farmers. He mates
with clipper Dinah crow in clump
of willows on the bottoms. and in due
time they hatch out nest of hungry
crowlets. The father rustles for grass
hoppers, bugs and toads, while the
youngsters are growing their pin feath-
ers. As soon as they can fly their
mother leads them away from the con-
taminating influences of the city into
the pure, green country, and the whole
family turns loose upon the vermin and
insects. None of them ever trouble
the corn-helds, and none of the farmers
ever trouble them. During the fall
they pick up the loose grain, and now
and then play free-lunch fiend on the
corn-fields. In the West much of the
corn is left standing in the fields during
the winter, while in the East it is stored
in the barn before snow falls. Perhaps
this apparent generosity on the part of
the farmer in Nebraska has something
to do with improved conduct of the
bird. However this may be, the bird
in the Missouri Valley does not rely
upon the corn-feld, summer or winter,
for subsistence. Nebraska, Iowa and
Missouri crows rendezvous largely at
Peru, in this State. 1t is a famous
roost for them, and has attracted the
attention of natnralists. Prof. Taylor,
of the Normal School at Peru, has
made close study of the habits of
these crows, and is writing series of
papers on that subject Meantime the
sable crow continues to spend his sum-
mers in the country and his winters in
the city, following the fashion which
his wealthiest biped patrons set for
themselves World.