The mischievous Crow. Said to be a trickster in certain cultures. What I find interesting is the Crow is a very diverse symbol throughout the various groups of people in history. From a good omen to a bad omen. A bird that sat on the shoulder of Odin in Norse mythology. The Crow would communicate with the gods of their culture, holding a position of power. In Viking culture, the sighting of three Crows was a sign of good luck, and food, often horse meat, was left for the birds in appreciation and anticipation of fortunate times ahead.
Interestingly, the number of Crows spotted means various things. Seeing one Crow is an omen of bad luck, whereas seeing two Crows together is a sign of good luck! Seeing three Crows signifies health and four Crows, wealth. Five Crows is a sign sickness is coming and six Crows suggests death is nearby. I typically see two or four Crows together so I’m just going to leave it at that.
Where did all the mischievous Crows go?
I remember years back there used to be quite a few Crows in town. Not so many today. A good friend, Jim, shared with me his theory for this: the City came out with sturdy garbage receptacles some years ago for residential use. They were basically tip proof and had a heavy lid. Jim said this was a vast improvement over the variety of rubbish cans that littered the streets on garbage pick up day. Dogs would knock cans over, lids were loose. It all lead to a food supply for Crows that doesn’t really exist today. No food, no Crows.
Crows are omnivorous and they will eat carrion. I think this is part of the negative perception folks have towards Crows – they eat dead stuff. That and they can be quite aggressive with other bird species and have a nasty habit of raiding the nests of other birds. Not nice.
I still have plenty of Crows out on the property. They get fed corn, along with the Squirrels and Blue Jays. Did you know Blue Jays and Crows are related? Indeed. They are cousins, so to speak. Also in the family are the Ravens. Ravens are not really seen in these parts. They tend to reside north of my locale and are said to always travel in pairs. I don’t know much about Ravens except that they are basically a Crow on steroids. The entire family of birds are considered highly intelligent and very social. They are problem solvers and they store food. Also, they remember where they stored their food – unlike most birds and animals.
Crows are problem solvers
I recall a story about Crows and Walnuts. I’m talking fallen off the tree Walnuts, not the bagged kind we find in the wilds of the grocery store. Walnuts are an interesting nut. Walnuts are contained in a rock-hard shell and enveloped in a fragrant green husk that turns brown upon ripening. Anyway, Crows relish walnuts. There is just one problem – and that is to open the walnut to get to the nut meat.
The story goes that a Crow was observed with a walnut and was fiddling with it – pecking at it – trying to get it unhusked and open. It wasn’t long and the Crow flew with the Walnut and placed the walnut on a street. It then flew up in a nearby tree and waited, and waited, and waited. A car finally drove by, missing the Walnut. The Crow flew down and repositioned the nut – and back up in the tree to wait and wait. Another car is coming and this one drives right over the Walnut cracking it to pieces! The Crow quickly swoops down and gobbles up the nut meat. Pretty clever. I mean, really clever.
There have been studies of Crows and their ability to problem solve. In one study that comes to mind, the Crows were pitted against children, age four. The Crows solved the problem before the children! I think that is amazing.
The mischievous Crow remembers
Crows remember faces of people and other Crows. Additionally they retain related positive or negative feelings towards that face. Isn’t that wild? There is another story of a young girl who fed several Crows in their garden. The Crows would return with gifts of trinkets such as marbles and ear rings and leave for the girl. Just a coincidence? I’m not so sure. I’m not one to believe in coincidence.
Crows also like to pester other animals for the fun of it. That and they love to engage in aerial acrobatics. This is probably why they are identified as the mischievous Crow. And they love to party!
However, I recall some aerial acrobatics this past summer that was something much more intense than play. A new Crow entered the flock of Crows. (They are also referred to as a “murder’ of Crows but that is yet another story.)
This new Crow was not welcome. Was it recognized as a bad dude? I don’t know but I was drawn in to this drama by a great verbal commotion. As I watched, one of the larger Crows of the flock flew full throttle towards the newcomer. It was an attack! The Crows engaged in battle with wings flapping and beaks pecking. Clasping with their claws. I had never seen such an intense fight amongst Crows.
The newcomer hastily retreated with the aggressor in hot pursuit. They flew from tree to tree and continued to fight. Finally, claiming victory, the Crow from the flock returned and all the Crows seemed to celebrate with a raucous chorus.
Is the mischievous Crow too much like us?
Great question! But the short answer is they exhibit behaviors we can relate to. Some of those behaviors are less positive. We can sometimes relate to those behaviors as well and perhaps generate a feeling of disdain for the Crow.
People and Crows have a long history together with Crows being present on all Continents with the exception of Antarctica. The relationship goes way back – thousands of years. Many cultures speak of and revere the Crow. Additionally, there are multiple Biblical references to Ravens, the Crows larger cousin. There are eleven Bible references to the Raven. Generally speaking, these references are to provision.
Closing
Want to engage in some Crow chatter? You can contact me here. I’d love to hear your stories about the mischievous Crow. If you are a truly hardcore Crow fan, I have a great Crow shot for you to consider in this Gallery. I believe a couple haven’t made it to the website yet, but they will suddenly appear in a quiet moment. As always, my hope for you is this day brings you Peace.
