A whimsical epilogue to yesterday’s blog post. Maybe calling a group of crows a “murder” is appropriate after all.
Yesterday I took minor issue with the common practice of referring to a group of crows as a “murder” and explained why I don’t like it. At the risk of promoting the practice, I can’t resist sharing the following photo that was taken earlier on the same morning as the crow photos I posted yesterday.
The timing was too good, and the photo was too appropriate, not to.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
About five minutes after sunrise when it was 16 °F. I found three American Crows basking in the warming sun at the 4-way at Farmington Bay WMA. A portion of a small bridge to the southeast provided shadows that resembled bars of a jail cell, so of course I immediately thought of them as a “murder” of crows serving time for their crime. What else could I think? Their subdued demeanor contributed significantly to that impression.
It was both fun and enlightening to watch them. All three crows were moving around but they were extremely careful to avoid placing any portion of their bodies in the narrow shadows of the bridge, thus robbing them of some portion of the warmth provided by the sun’s rays. Who says that crows aren’t smart?
Yes, I wish I had a catch light in the eye of the crow on the right. With this angle of the sun, and that turn of the head, I’m somewhat surprised I didn’t. Catch lights can be fickle.
Ron
I’m imagining this group serving the time on behalf of their brethren who recently sullied my freshly-washed car (and I try to be nice to them!).
Perfect followup!
Glad you think so, Carolyn. Thanks.
LOL
😁
Corvidae as a group are pretty bright, and some of them can be quite ruthless (by human standards).
Yup.
I’ve always wondered about that word “ruthless”. I understand words like careless, doubtless, endless and fearless. Penniless – I’ve been there.
But ruthless? What is the ruth that you’d be without? Or WHO is she? 🙂
Clever, very clever, Ron! I was so focused on the birds, I missed the bars. Great photo!
Thanks, Ellen.
Ron, watch your back. Two of them are plotting a jail break and the third one is watching around for any snitches. Lets hope the third one did not see you… ….
Hmmm, I hadn’t thought of that…
I LOVED Steven’s story– I don’t know how many other stories I’ve heard
in the past of their stunning resourcefulness– but they attest indeed to “endless evidence of their intelligence”…..
Agreed, Kris. Steven told a great story.
Absolutely the Crows and the Ravens are smart. I watched a nature show once that my memory says was in England where they put them through numerous tests where they had to do challenging things in order to get food, and they preformed some remarkable gymnastics in order to do so and passed every test.
Everett, I believe I watched that same nature show.
MURDER MOST FOWL
These cold-blooded corvids are in the slammer awaiting trial. The leader is telling the other two: ”keep your beaks shut and we will be out in no time. After all, they’ll never find the body because… we ate it.”
That’s how I saw it, Lyle!
TOO funny……. 🙂 They and other Corvids are definitely not stupid tho curious they would avoid the “bars” other than staying out of the shade…..
Thanks, Judy. I’m convinced they avoided the “bars” so they didn’t miss out on any warmth.
I think I might have stayed at this in a reply about crows earlier. They learn from each other and I observe a crow placing an English Walnut on the Road when I was working in Oregon. I tried to run it over but clipped it and it went skittering off to the side of the road. Pulled off to the side of the road and sat there and watch the crow get the nut put it back in the road until a car ran over it then retrieve it and eat it and then fly in to a backyard by a house close by to retrieve another Walnut and place it in the road
That’s a neat story, Steven. There’s endless evidence of their intelligence but the behavior you observed is a new one for me.