Today’s post begins my Week Of The Crow Series. The photo above was submitted by Mamabug-photographer extraordinaire. Mamabug takes fantastic photos of all sorts of things-be sure to jump over to her site and look around-its a true feast for the eyes.
A few interesting tidbits about my favorite bird the crow:
- Crows can be found throughout the world-just about everywhere except Antarctica
- Since crows are scavengers and predators-they eat just about anything-finding road kill especially tasty
- Crows have very interesting and complex family units
- A large group of crows is called a Murder of Crows
After reading all that-kinda makes me wonder why I like crows-but I do. Be sure and drop back by tomorrow for a great crow story.
Tipper
p.s. THANK YOU to all the folks who came out to see the Blind Pig Gang yesterday at the WCU Heritage Day! You made us feel like Rock Stars-and I so enjoyed talking to each of you-some of you for the very first time-but hopefully not the last!
Tipper my mother always heard if you caught a crow and had his tongue slit he could be taught to speak. We had a houseboat in lake in Murphy and we spend two week vacation on the boat my hubby walked out to work but I had two week vacation coming so we spent it on the houseboat best vacation ever. I would feed this crow scraps on the bank where we were tight up. I named him inkabob he would not fly or run from me but let other go out and away he flew one of my friends said Mary is a witch she has a way with animals and bird and a pet crow
We are listening to noisy crows back here in the Christmas tree field. Apparently one of them is running for political office against another one, cause they are talking a lot and I can’t understand a word of it. Thank goodness we aren’t paying them by the word.
We used to play a card game called Rook. Are rooks and crows the same thing?
Crows are cool…one always roosts outside my office window and they are pretty fun to watch. They have funny quirks if you watch them for awhile. Nice series!
Crows are interesting and when I don’t have my chicken farmer hat on I like them, save for the day when they are holding their cawing contests!
I like them, too. But then I like most all birds. There’s just something alluring about the crow.
Tipper: the other day i was walking out of the church office , an a lady came from the hall, and ask if the crows would attack people ,of course i said no way. then as i was getting into my car i looked back and she was being attacked bye several crows. boy did i feel like an idiot. k.o.h
Crows are numerous(& onerous) in our neck of the woods,too. Our backyard is Waterville Lake-when the crows get really loud we rush out to the porch hoping we’re in time to see the bald eagle fly. The crows harass them relentlessly-does anyone know why?
Crows are my favorite too! I saw a documentary about them once, they can recognize different people! Can’t wait to see the next crow post!
Hey Tipper; so glad you could use my crow photo! It was taken at a marina on St. Joe Bay in Port St. Joe, Florida. He was strutting his stuff with all the big water fowl on the jetty!
I know they’re smart. We’ve seen them set a guard while others eat. I remember being cautioned by the older folks in our family saying they like shiny things, so not to leave jewelry unattended outdoors, like taking off a watch or ring to wash your hands outdoors.
God bless.
RB
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Crows are definitely something to talk about.
I know when I am out hunting and some fly in I try to stay as motionless as possible because if they spot you they sqwauck warning everything else that’s around.
Crystal… yes, crows and ravens are related. And so are jays and magpies. They are all in the Corvid family.
We have lots of crows around here more than ever, even tho there’s no crops to draw them. Awhile back i heard them making that awful sound and saw a bunch of them coming toward the house. When they got close enough i could see they were over a fox that was coming this way. From then on i watch to see what’s going on when i hear them.
I like ravens better. lol Does anybody know if they are related to crows?
Tipper,
Sounds like Charlotte, Ed A and Bill’s Dad needed a good “Tattie-Bogle”…to help save the garden…
Ed..I’ve heard my Dad speak of Crows being that smart, and waiting patiently until the corn sprouted to raid it…His Dad being a “tough old gizzard” charging his five boys that they skipped rows or didn’t get all the rows planted…
Thanks Tipper,
First Comment – I too love crows. Have since I was a child on the Canadian prairies. I do not see them much over here on the NC coast tho. My all time favorite joke is… What’s black and dangerous?
A crow with a machine gun. đŸ™‚
Beautiful photo! Looking forward to see the rest of the week’s pictures and comments.
Tipper,
I have been told by the older folks that crows have their own
law among themselves. Before they
invade a corn field they place
sentry posts on the lookout for
anyone who could do harm to them.
If one of the invaders should get
killed during the feast, that
sentry closest to the incident
would lose his life by the whole
pack soon as they returned to
their safe place…Ken
It is unfortunate that many people think that crows are bad- even evil – because of their black feathers and the fact that they eat carrion (among many other things). Without birds like crows (and vultures) our roadsides would be littered with road kill. In olden times, crows were thought to bring death, but in reality hey were dealing with the aftermath of death.
Crows and other corvids (ravens, jays and magpies) are highly intelligent birds and watching their antics is entertaining!
Jim-Mamabug lives in Florida-so I’m assuming that’s where the pic was taken. I’m sure she’ll chime in and tell us.
Blind Pig The Acorn
Celebrating and Preserving the
Culture of Appalachia
http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
We have our own “murder.” For a few years there weren’t many crows in the area, but we always have had them in our neighborhood. I guess it’s because we’re out of the city and in the woods. We put out corn for the wildlife, and our crows love it. Each year, there are just a few more.
Tipper–That’s a striking photo and I’d love to know where it was taken. Sure doesn’t look like the Smokies!
Many Native American tribes held two creatures in special awe–the crow and the coyote. Both are intelligent, gregarious, and at times exceedingly vocal. Also, the sounds of both can be somewhere between haunting and horrifying.
Truly interesting creatures (and both pose special challenges for those who enjoy predator hunting).
Jim Casada
http://www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com
It’s just about this time of year when the crows attack my pecan tree, carrying them off before the hulls dry, and dropping many of them in the flower beds where they sprout. There is one crow I named Edgar Allen Crow, (from Edgar Allen Poe) who sits around the chicken houses, waiting for me to come out, for a handout.
You don’t really want to hear all the crow tales, do you? When I was a kid, crows were the bane of all civilization. There was a bounty on their heads. I’ve never seen it but I heard they would attack children and pull out their hair to build their nest. I have seen them pull up corn in the garden. They didn’t dig it up, they waited ’til it sprouted and pulled it up and ate the kernel at the end of the sprout.
Crows are smart and years ago many were raised as pets. My Dad told of finding a young Crow and keeping it as a Pet when he was a youngster. One humerous event he told me of was one day when they were planting sweet potato slips, he finished a row and looked back to admire his work and found that his Pet Crow had followed him down the row and had pulled out every slip he had planted and laid it on top the hill. It must have thought it was helping. I have always heard that if you carefully cut the tissue under a crow’s tongue that you can teach them to talk much like a parrot.
Interesting that they are called a murder of crows. Anyone know how they got that name and do any other species have that name.
Indeed crows are everywhere, and thank goodness they are, can you imagine the roads without them?
Golden eagles are also well represented in the Appalachian Mountains. Their mighty wings span eight feet, the height of a typical living room ceiling, and they are strong enough to carry off kid goats. Rather like the idea of them, a noble bird indeed.
Tipper,
What a fitting wake up call!..Evidently one of the many owls we have residing on our place, missed his snooze bedtime. I suspect a Great Horned Owl by the sound of the hoot…
Suddenly it started, THE CROWS, cawing and raising all kinds of hateful cane! They were tormenting the poor thing…until he stopped his hooting and moved further into the woods away from them!…That was my wake up call!..I immediatly thought about The Week of the Crow starting today and couldn’t wait until getting logged on to Blind Pig…ha
Thanks Tipper,
An old thing that used to be told to me was that if you split a crow’s tongue, he would be able to talk! haha! I do not believe that one, but I guess someone thought they looked like a myna (not sure about that spelling!) bird and so the only difference being the tongue.
Ah Tipper, you have touched a lovely note in my heart. About 4 years ago I adopted the crow as my personal icon in my art work, and have since become known as Mama Crow. Crows are fascinating
and intelligent. I look forward to every post this week, and to meeting you this weekend at the festival, caws you’re so very special…Mama Crow.
Wonderful photo of the crow. Looking forward to more about it. Have a great week.
I love them too. They’re so smart & they have regional dialect.
murder of crows is what i am thinking when they are in our trees making that horrible racket they make. seems to me like there are many more crows than in the past few years.