A murder! Of Crows…

How could that really be the name of a group of Crows? It seems so appropriate but is it only because Crows seem to have a scary reputation? And from where did that reputation, and also the name for the group, originate? A great source on Crows 

Crow / Deception Pass State Park, WA / August 201

Or is it just me and the influence of the movie, The Birds? When I did my blog on Gulls [August 4, 2016 - Gulls! Gulls! Gulls!], to shorten my blog, I didn't mention the movie, The Birds. Ingrained in my memory is seagulls perched on a jungle gym in a playground. After seeing that movie I remember seeing seagulls at my sandy school playground and being very hesitant to walk by them. (That is a reason why young children should not see scary movies - everything becomes a frightening reality!) Crows were also some of the attacking birds in the movie, The Birds!

In my recent trips to the Pacific Northwest, I noticed Crows were prevalent. Thus I had to overcome some of my biases towards Crows as naturally I began to think about them as a subject for a blog. As in the past with other blogs, providentially, I saw some interesting sights of Crows or perhaps it was just because I started noticing Crows and all their interesting behaviors more!

One thing I have noticed over the past years of traveling is that crows are around the ocean more than I expected. Actually even on the beach! Here is one calmly among the seagulls eating sand crabs just like a seagull!

Crow among gulls / Carl Washburne State Park beach, OR / June 2015

A murder of Crows / Seaside, OR / July 2016 

On a walk along Seaside’s promenade, I noticed this “murder” of Crows. I immediately thought of the Crows group name as the group sat appropriately on a dead looking tree!







In the video, watch how some of the Crows carry out a display behavior of head bobbing. I don’t know what the display represents.

A murder of Crows / Seaside, OR / July 2016

Crows / Seaside, OR / July 2016

Not far away were some Crows gathered on a bush in a yard. I thought it looked odd and didn’t see the Crows eating bugs or fruit from the plant.

Crow in flight / Anacortes, WA / August 2016 

Here are more Crows near the water. I would guess they are eating sea creatures among the seaweed.




In the video, notice the swagger reminiscent of the Mynah bird in Hawai’i!

Crows / Anacortes, WA / August 2016

Over my first year of this blog, I have been lucky to have had amazing nature coincidences to observe and record. Here is my providential occurrence for this blog:  One afternoon, I sat outside in a backyard reading. I heard a continuous raucous noise that was unmistakably from Crows. I went out to the front with camera in hand. The birds were on a roof across the street. 

Three Crows / Anacortes, WA / August 2016

After observing a number of parent-juvenile bird relationships over this year [May 19, 2016 - It’s twins - twice! Cardinals that is!] and [August 4, 2016 - Gulls! Gulls! Gulls!], I feel confident that the loud, demanding Crow is an overgrown juvenile begging for one of its last provided meals! 

Three Crows / Anacortes, WA / August 2016

I believe the middle Crow even has something in its mouth. 

Something I did not "touch" on is the difference between Ravens and Crows . Since working in the Northern California redwoods, I have not seen too many Ravens and certainly haven't photographed any. :( But I do remember them as massive birds! I remember being alone in a kiosk and seeing the Ravens strut around - as tall as a trash can!

Although we do not have Crows (Corvidae family) in Hawai’i, perhaps you can observe a “murmuration” of the similar but not closely related, Mynahs (Sturnidae family) [February 4, 2016 - Urban Flight amidst Urban Blight and January 14, 2016 - Gangster birds of Hawaii (with violent fights added in!)] and “watch out” for the Mynah’s natural, and similar, behaviors!