Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-12-14
THE CROWS OF INDIA
THEY ARE THE ARCH VILLAINS OF
THE BIRD WORLD.

OF Regrets to appreciate the impor-
tant part played by crows in the daily
life Of the A~nglo-lndlan. India with
out its crows is unthinkable; it could
only be likened to London without its
fogs. Wherever human beings have
their abodes there are multitudes of
corvidae 10 be found. for the Indian
is an inseparable appendage Of
town and village. Two species exist
side by side in India, the great black
bird known TO Anglo-lndians ms the
corby and the smaller gray necked spe-
cies. Both birds lead lives of aimless
v~agabondage; both are scoundrels Of
the most pronounced type; both are
sinners beyond redemption. Did the
black crow exist alone 1t would be
held up as the emblem Of all that is
evil and mischievous. As things are, its
i~niquities pale into insignifcance be-
side those of its gray necked cousin.
The very lame Of the latter bird is
sufficient to raise the ire of the right
eous man. To call the arch villain Of
the bird world "the splendid" Is mere
mockery of words. Jerdon, the famous
Indian naturalist, 'often regrets that
such an inappropriate specific name
should have been applied to this spe-
cies, for 1t tends to bring into ridicule
among the ~unscientiic the system Of
nomenclature"
The Indian crow Is able to utilize
most things. A Calcutta bird has
made itself famous for all time by
constructing a nest of the wires used
to secure the corks of soda water bot
ties. Bombay is very jealous of Cal
cutta, and the crows, of course, ape
their betters. The Bombay birds de-
termined not TO be outdone by the
Calcutta corvidae. Accordingly n Of
the former promptly built her nest of
gold and silven spectacle frames stol-
en- from Messrs. Lawrence & Mayo's
factory. The value of the materials
used in the construction of this nest
was estimated at EGO. But crows will
appropriate things for which they can
have no possible use. They commit
larceny for the love of the thing. The
Indian crow is the incarnate spirit Of
mischief. The bird will wantonly tear
4 leaf out of a book lying open on
the table. My gardener, adds Mr.. De-
war, puts every morning fresh flowers
in the vases. This operation is per-
formed on the veranda. One day the
man was called away from his work
for a couple of minutes. During his
absence a crow swooped down and sue
ceeded i'm taking a beakful of flowers
and breaking the vase in which they
were placed. A retired colonel Of my
| acquaintance who lives In the Hima-
layas Is a very enthusiastic gardener,
and the crows are the bane of his life.
They root up his choicest seedlings,
sever the heads of his most superb
flowers from the stalk and fly away
with the little pieces of paper which
he places in cleft sticks to mark where
seed have been W
But it Is in towns that the iniquity
of the crows reaches its maximum.
The Madras corvidae are a byword
throughout the length and breadth OF
India. The hospital Is their favorite
playground. They are never so happy
as when annoying the inmates. They
know at once when a person Is too Ill
to move. The consequence Is that 1t
has been found necessary to have made
for all the tables wire cover which
protect articles placed at the bedside
from the ravages of the treble dated
birds" have eel a Madras crow
quietly helping itself to the contents OF
a basket which an old woman was
carrying on her head. The bird was
possessed of sufficient intelligence to
refrain from alighting on the basket.
Had II done so its presence would prob
ably have been detected. 1t tapped
along Just above the top Of the basket,
keeping pace with the woman, and so,
unperceived by her, made a meal on
the contents. The knavish tricks OF
crows are by no means confined to hui
man beings. AS Colonel Cunningham
truly says, "Any animal pets are. OF
course. even more than inanlmate OBJ
jects, subject to their attentions, and
unless in wholly inaccessible places are
constantly liable to have their food
purloined and their lives rendered q
burden by persistent and ingenious per
s%ecution." l once possessed a grey
hound which used to be fed in the gar
den. A man had to stand owe the dog
while II was feeding; otherwise the
crows would devour the greater portion
Of the meal. Their plan Of campaign
was simple and effective. They soor
learned the dogs feeding hour and al
II drew near would take up a position
on any convenient tree. The moment
the greyhound began to eat a crow
would swoop down and peck ~vlciously
mt It's tail. The dog would, Of course
turn on the bird. and the others would
seize this opportunity to snatch away
some of the food. The process would
be repeated until the meal was over
Crows tease and annoy wild creatures
with the same readiness that they wor
~ domestic animals. They mob every
strange bird in much the same way al
the London street arab makes fun o.
any person in unusual attlre.-Long
mans Magazine.