THE COMMON CROW BLACKBIRD. 29

and descending on the stretch of road
before him, covered it and the fences com-
pletely with black; rising again, after a
few circlings, they descended on the skirt
of a leafless wood, so thick, as to give the
whole forest the appearance of being
shrouded in mourning. Their notes and
screams resembled the distant sounds of
a mighty cataract. Their depredations
on the maize crop commence almost as
soon as it is planted. The gun, notwith-
standing the havoc it makes, has no other
effect than to chase the flock from one
part of the ficld to another, and the maize
is often almost destroyed.