St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-11
WINGED sCAVENGERs.
How the Grows Are Respected in
Omaha for Their Good Work.

Omaha World.
The city of Omaha has in its service
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 cot
tonwood trees OIL the banks of the Mis-
souri,, where they roost for the night. A
favorite haunt is at the bend of the
lakes, where the banks break 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 it's shiny wings and heads
back toward the city. The vast flock
breaks into small groups, and they alight
here and there Oh the tree-tops and sur
vey the back yards and alleys until
they can pick out foraging places. Then
they descend, and in short order the
remains of the breakfast, the scraps of
meat from markets and the rats
killed by household dogs and cats are
work about the residences. Others
alight cautiously in the alleys, and
others are attracted to the stock yards
and packing 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 Yer
mont. In the East he is nuisance.
The granger shoots him on sight, tries
to brighten 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
a respected resident, and nobody asks
"What was your name back East?" or
mates with clipper Dinah crow in
due time they hatch out nest
of hungry crowlets. The father rustles
for grasshoppers, bugs and toads,
while the youngsters are growing their
pin feathers. As soon as they can fly
their mother leads them away from the
communicating influences of the city
into the pure, green country, and the
whole family turns loose upon the YER
min and insects. None of them ever
trouble the corn fields, 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
cornfields. 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
i'll the Missouri valley does not rely
upon the corn field. summer or winter,
for subsistence. Nebraska, Iowa and
Missouri crows rendezvous largely at
Peru, in this state. 1t Is famous roost
for them, and has attracted the atten-
ton of naturalists. Prof. Taylor, of the
normal school at Peru. has made close
study of the habits of these crows, and is
writing a series of pape to be pub
lished in an Eastern mag azine on that
subject. Meantime the sable crow
continues to spend his summers in the
country and his winters in the city, fol-
lowing the fashion which his wealthiest
biped patrons set for themselves.