It was so gorgeous, but sadly, I have no photos of it. They were so cute! I saw a tree covered in crows, and the ground below the tree was covered in crows aswell! Crows are so cool! It was at 4PM and starting to get dark, so I think they were gathering to find a place to sleep together! Can anybody else share their photos of swarms of crows if they have any? Would love to see it since sadly I couldn’t take any photos myself!
Anyways since I have no photos of that crow swarm just look at these crows on a random coniferous tree together.
A large aggregation of crows is called a murder. Which maybe tells us something about those birds. Best not to try to photo a murder as it could be the last thing you do. (Joking, of course. I like crows.)
And an aggregation of ravens—which are rather larger—is called an unkindness, which really confused me when I was younger.
I would say that Ravens are big enough that they don’t have anything to prove, but I follow the Ravenmaster of the Tower of London on social media. The scars on his hands from when the birds get a wee bit testy sure look to me as though their unkindness borders on attempted murder!
Rooks, on the other hand, are noisy but reasonably mellow*: exactly what you’d expect out of a parliment.
*(by corvid standards, anyway. Someone more accustomed to doves or warblers might well disagree.)
Funny crows. That reminds me of when I saw a seagull soaring around at a Fast food place looking for food and I think it sqawked as well. That seagull was so cute.
I’ve had crows nest in the pines, I discovered as I photographed mayapples, apparently under them. I’ve never seen the nest, but listening to them was wonderous. It’s not all harsh noises, when corvids speak to their young. It’s very harsh when they discover me.
Later, I enjoyed hearing the babies rasping at the adults to feed them and the annoyance when parents decide “enough!”
I love and deeply admire crows.
There was a family of four crows who regularly hung out in my yard, for years. First one would arrive, and sit on a chair or a fence post and call loudly, then the others would arrive. They often pecked at the scattered birdseed on the ground, or clung awkwardly to the suet feeder, flapping their glorious wings and clinging just long enough to grab a bite. Seeing them always made me happy.
I say this was a family, because it is known that family members often stay together for years, with young adults hanging around to help out their parents.
About a month ago I found one of the crows seriously injured and near death. (too near death to take to rehab.) When I went out to check on it, the other family members were apparently watching, although I couldn’t see them, and they commenced yelling loudly at me. The crow soon died, which broke my heart. And theirs.
The rest of the family hasn’t returned to my yard since then, but they hang around a neighbor’s, and when I walk by they shout at me. I believe they are shouting “Murderer! Murderer!”
It has been shown that crows can recognize individual humans, and hold grudges - for generations.
Read about the study from the University of Washington: https://urban.uw.edu/news/crows-hold-grudges-against-individual-humans-for-up-to-17-years/
The crow was alive (just barely) when I went out to look at it. They saw me standing over it. Later, it died. I think the conclusion they reached was intelligent and logical!
In a human court of law, that evidence would be considered circumstantial, and I would not be convicted of murder. But in a crow court of law … guilty as charged!
If I was in that circumstance I would start again in the spring with encouraging food offerings. Maybe you’ll make amends or a new generation will be forgiving. It’s a hard loss. I know they live long and pass on knowledge but hold hope and have an open heart.
