Page:Bird-lore Vol 01.djvu/193

 A Search for the Reedy Island Crow Roost 179 south, evidently from feeding grounds on the shores of the bay. They came along in twos and threes, and alighted in a corn-field on our left, from which the farmer had neglected to haul in all of the ears. Here was a rare feast, and about a thousand birds were already assembled, to whose numbers constant additions were being made. This, we thought, must be the beginning of the evening assemblage, but, strange to say, no Crowds were coming in from the west : these were all southern Crows, and, furthermore, they showed no signs of settling for the night, but were simply intent on the grain. Driving further on, we inquired of a man where the Crows roosted, and were assured that they made use of a long strip of woods lying between us and the river. Investigation, however, showed not a Crow in the wood, and we were inclined to believe that w^e had been purposely misled. Passing through the trees, we had an unobstructed view of the river. The sun was just setting, a round, red ball of fire in the w^est, and in the yellow light we could see the lines of Delaware Crows crossing towards us, while in the fields before us were hundreds of Crows lazily flapping about much as the others were in the corn-field to the east. Here, again, we were directed back to the same wood and as- sured that the birds would repair there when ready. It was just dusk as we hitched our horse and entered the woods ; there was still no sign of Crows, but as we emerged on the farther side we found that an immense flight was just beginning to pass overhead from the westward ; evidently the river Crows had concluded that bedtime had come. They did not, however, alight in the trees, but passed over and dropped noiselessly into the low fields just before us, seeming to select a black, burnt area on the far side. To our amazement this "burnt" patch proved to be a solid mass of Crows sitting close together, and in the gathering gloom it was difficult to see how far it extended. Four immense flights of the birds were now pouring into the fields, in one of which we estimated that 500 Crows passed overhead per minute, during the height of the flight. It was now quite dark, and we began to think that the birds had no intention of retiring to the woods, so determined to vary the monotony of the scene and at the same time warm our chilled bodies. We, therefore, ran rapidly toward the nearest birds and shouted together just as they first took wing. The effect was mar- vellous ; with a roar of wings the whole surface of the ground seemed to rise. The birds hovered about a minute, and then en- tered the woods ; we soon saw that but a small portion of the as- semblage had taken wing. Those farther off had not seen us in the darkness, and doubtless thought that this was merely the begin-