Of the vegetable food, corn, which is eaten every month, is the most important item and forms about a third of the yearly diet. Much of this, however, must be considered waste. Over 60 per cent is consumed from the first of November to the end of March. During the periods when corn is sprouting and when in the “roasting-ear” stage the crow is eating this grain at a rate considerably less than the yearly average, and the months of smallest consumption are July and August. At times, however, the damage to corn becomes a serious problem, and were it not possible to make use of such deterrents as coal tar upon seed corn there would be little friendship for the crow in some sections of the East. The “pulling” of corn is a trait most prevalent in small-field areas. Wheat and oats suffer similar damage at times, especially in the Northwestern States, where these grains predominate. About the only safeguard to ripening grain is the constant use of powder and shot or the scarecrow.
Various kinds of cultivated fruits also are eaten, and local damage to such crops as apples, melons, peas, beans, peanuts, and almonds is occasionally reported. In long, rigorous winters, the crow, like other birds, resorts to the fruit of numerous wild plants, as dogwood, sour gum, hackberry, smilax, and the several species of sumac and poison ivy.
Damage to the eggs of poultry may be reduced to a minimum by careful housing of laying hens, and the farmer can protect his sprouting grain to a large extent by the use of tar-coated seed. It will be well also to keep the crow within reasonable numbers on game preserves and public parks where it is desired to encourage the nesting of smaller birds. While legal protection is not needed for so wary an individual as the crow, it seems well, where local conditions have not aggravated some particular shortcomings of the bird, to allow it to continue the good services rendered to man in the destruction of noxious insects.
[BLUE JAY.]
The blue jay[45] ([fig. 17]) is a conspicuous member of our bird population east of the Plains, especially in autumn when his brilliant plumage contrasts vividly with the brown foliage. Even in winter he stays with us, though at this time he is less common along our northern border. In spring and summer, while by no means uncommon, the blue jay is not so often noticed, as the retiring disposition which he assumes during the breeding season assists in protecting him from enemies. This also allows him to carry on with considerable impunity that inglorious practice of nest robbing of which, in a measure, he has been rightfully accused.
[45] Cyanocitta cristata.