In India, they are the most common birds. Since they don’t have colourful feathers or melodious voices, they are rarely appreciated, and most often, are shooed away or ignored.
Therefore, most people do not realize that the noisy and bright-eyed common crow is actually anything but common! It is among the most social, intelligent, and agile of birds. These bold, enterprising birds belong to the Corvid family, which includes over a hundred species of crows, ravens, magpies, rooks and jackdaws, among others. They are found all over the world, except in New Zealand, South America, and Antarctica. It is believed that crows first appeared on our planet in the Miocene epoch, 17 million years ago in Australia and Oceania.
Through the ages, they have adjusted wonderfully to changing conditions in our world, and are among the most resourceful and adaptable of birds. One reason for this is probably because these birds are so intelligent. Scientific studies documented by The National Geographic Society report that crows are so clever that they make tools to help themselves when they gather food. They play tricks on each other, and communicate among themselves in a unique dialect of caws! Other studies have also revealed that crows are much smarter than all other birds, including eagles, owls and other fierce birds of prey. They are cleverer, more sly, and sharper than parrots too. The anatomy of a crow brain is quite similar to a human brain.
The forebrain, where the higher intelligence is supposed to be located, is also the biggest area in the brain of a crow. This is probably why crows are brighter than dogs, cats, pigs,
and even chimpanzees! This means that after Man, crows are the smartest creatures on Earth. It’s no wonder therefore, that many scientists refer to these birds as ‘feathered apes, or flying monkeys.’
Crows are very social birds, and live in family groups of two to fifteen birds. Do you know that a group of crows is called a ‘murder’? Crows are territorial, and defend their territory ferociously. These intelligent birds sit together in roosts where they assemble daily just before dark, after they return from feeding on their usual flight paths called fly ways. Scientists believe that crows roost together because larger numbers offer greater protect ion f rom predators. During the cold season, communal crow roosts sometimes have tens of thousands of birds huddled together. When these roosts are located atop buildings in cities or towns, they cause severe problems for people.
In some towns, residents have tried to disband crow roosts with firecrackers, water cannons,
and repellants ! Crows will group together to caw at, and chase away predators approaching
their roost. This behaviour is called mobbing. Crows look for food together, and also preen or clean and groom each other while sitting in groups.
People from all over the world have stories to tell of how enterprising crows have adapted to their environment to make it work for them. In Sweden, crows have learned to fish by watching fishermen place a baited line through a hole in the ice. When the fisherman moves off, the birds pull the line from the water to eat the bait - or the fish at the end of the line! Crows in Tokyo wait at busy junctions for the traffic light to turn red. Then they place walnuts in front of car tyres, and fly back to their perches, to wait for the green light. When the cars have moved off, they swoop down to collect their nuts that have been neatly cracked! Crows store some of their food in caches, or hiding places that are scattered in
many different areas. These may be in tree crevices or on the ground, where they are
often covered with leaves, pebbles, or small twigs. But crows are such clever tricksters that they often pretend to cache food in one spot when another crow is looking, but really hide it in another place! These cunning birds steal food from larger birds like vultures, hawks, eagles and turkeys by sneaking up from behind, and pulling a few tail feathers. When the outraged bird turns to confront the offender, other crows swoop in to nab the prize! Crows are also clever enough to rob food from human beings– they regularly hop into our homes
through open doors or windows, and boldly steal any food that they see about.
Crows are probably best known for their raucous voices . But though it seems to us that
there is no variation in crows’ noisy caws, each caw actually has a different meaning! Crows have an extensive and complex vocabulary, and through their caws, can communicate feelings of alarm, of having located food, and the need to gather together or to get ready for a fight! They also have a series of courtship calls. Crows also communicate by using clicks and rattles. They can imitate sounds like a barking dog or a crying child.
Sometimes, when they live in close proximity to humans, they can even learn to utter words from the local languages! Unlike other birds that sing to attract a mate, crows get close and whisper during their courtship.
In the wild, crows live six to seven years, but in captivity, they often live to a quarter of
a century! Crows usually mate for life, and make good parents. Both the male and female share the responsibility of nest building, sometimes aided by one or more helpers, generally their offspring. Crows usually build nests high up on tall trees with branches and twigs. They line their nests with bark, plant fibres, mosses, hair, twine,cloth, and any other soft material. Many crows have the interesting habit of collecting and hiding away bright objects that they do not seem to have any particular use for, and often, these are found in their nests. In
April 2011, it was reported that a family of crows had built their nest at the top of a 75 foot roller-coaster in Essex, England!
Crows are very popular in literature, myth, and legend. In Roman mythology, crows, or ravens, were once as white as snow. However, when one unfortunate crow brought some
very bad news to the god Apollo, the god blackened his plumes in rage. According to Greek mythology, the raven was originally a beautiful, silver-white bird, until i t had the misfortune to tell Apollo that his human lover, Coronis, had rejected him for a mere man. In his disappointment and bitterness, Apollo turned the poor bird’s feathers inky black.
The Sioux, Native American Indians of North America tell the story of how a white crow
used to warn buffaloes about approaching hunters. The buffaloes would then stampede,
and the hunters would have to go back empty-handed and hungry. Eventually, an angry Indian captured and threw the bird in a fire, which turned its feathers black
In Nordic mythology, the raven symbolizes wisdom. The god Odin had two ravens called Hugin and Munin who flew around, gathering news of happenings in the world. They sat on the god’s shoulders telling him of what they had seen.Chinese, Egyptian, great importance on ravens. Greek, Semitic and Siberian legends depict the raven as a messenger of storms or
bad weather. In African, Asian and European legends, the raven forecasts death. Shakespeare presents ravens as messengers or exponents of evil in “Julius Caesar”, “Macbeth” and “Othello”
During World War II, the crow was designated as an enemy of the American public in the United States, and was subject to a widespread propaganda campaign that stated the “black bandits” were robbing the nation’s farms of grain.
King Henry VIII of England put a public bounty on crows and rooks. Welsh and Cornish folklore also place great importance on ravens.The Cornish believe that the spirit of King Arthur resides in a raven, making it deeply unlucky to injure or kill any of these birds. The Welsh believe that when their giant king Bran the Blessed died, his head was buried at a site usually identified as Tower Hill in London. As long as the King’s head remained buried
there, it is said that Britain would be safe from invasion! This may therefore, be one of
the reasons why ravens have long been associated with the infamous Tower of London.
An ancient superstition says that if the ravens leave the Tower of London, disaster will
follow, and the city of London, the Tower, and the monarchy itself will collapse. To this day, six ravens are kept at the Tower, and their wings are clipped to ensure that they cannot leave. The birds, now a great tourist attraction, are p a i d f o r b y t h e B r i t i s h
government. One of the Tower’s guards is appointed as ‘Ravenmaster’ to look after t h e s e precious birds. The most dangerous period for the ravens in the Tower of London was during the Second World War, when many of them died of shock during the German bombing raids. There was one survivor called Grip, and when the Tower of London reopened to visitors in 1946, the government of the time ensured that a new generation of ravens had already been installed to reassure the public that their kingdom was safe.
when crows are fed. Many stories in the world’s oldest story book, ‘The Panchatantra’ which
originated in India over 5000 years ago, feature the clever crow!
Shani Deva
Crows are so popular that they’ve added words to the English language. To “crow over” means to brag very loudly. This expression is obviously, inspired by the loud and rather harsh voice of the crow. To “eat crow” means to take back what one has said, or eat humble pie. Crows’ meat is generally thought of as unappetizing; so, to eat it was thought of as being a great come-down and a humiliating experience.The expression ‘as the crow flies,’ came from British coastal vessels that customarily carried a cage of crows in olden times. Crows detest large expanses of water, and head, as straight as the crow flies, towards the nearest land, if released at sea. This was vitally important in the days before radar and computers were known. Therefore, the lookout perch on sailing vessels became known as the ‘crow’s nest’.
Henry Ward Beecher once said of these fascinating birds,
“If a man had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever
enough to be crows.”
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