Crows, Crows, Everywhere There's Crows

In my wanderings I saw hundreds of crows together. I took the below picture because I was in awe of all of those birds gathered together. And I was slightly creeped out. I know a group of crows is called a murder and I can’t imagine that many crows is a good thing.

There are several theories as to why crows are called a murder. Some believe it is because the crows get together to decide whether or not another crow will live or die. I’m not a fan of that theory. Another theory is that it foretells someone’s death. You see, crows will eat almost anything including, you guessed it, dead things. They will circle the carcass and take turns cleaning up the leftover mess. Kind of like natures garbage crew. People then take the leap to if they’re circling, they sense and impending death. I definitely don’t like that reasoning!

A softer, gentler explanation is that it is a colorful way to describe a group of crows that gather together. Like a group of unicorns is called a blessing, a gathering of lions is a pride and a group of peacocks is an ostentation.

Crows are actually very clever and very social. They gather together to ensure each other’s safety from predators. They have over 200 different calls that they use to communicate to each other. Crows also mate for life. How romantics is that?

Crows are smart enough to use tools, remember events and remember faces. So if you did something to annoy a crow and you see him “talking” to another crow, it’s possible they really are talking about you and planning their revenge. That kind of brings back memories of the infamous movie “The Birds”. I never looked a birds the same way after watching that movie.

My father-in-law enjoys feeding them. He puts out leftovers and watches them hop about and clean up. The sea gulls always wait until the crows are done before they approach. Maybe they know it’s a murder of crows as well.