On Sun, 16 May 1999, Michele Herzberg wrote:

> As I've stated before, surely we need to look honestly at the problem of
> pest species, giving due consideration to the root causes of the problems
> and how WE help to perpetuate them. Crows, House Sparrows, starlings,
> geese, squirrels, rats and cats etc. etc. are "successful" species (like
> us... ) doing what comes naturally where human activity _nurtures_ their
> proliferation.

I have to object here that while House Sparrows, Starlings, rats, and the
rest are all introduced (even most of the Canada Geese), the crows are
native and an integral part of our natural ecosystem.

It is also important to remember that some of the crows out there are (at
least partly) Corvus caurinus, a species that lives only here in the
Northwest and *nowhere else in the world*; and that is something special.

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(253)535-7045
pharrinj at plu.edu