Wings Wetted Down
It’s not exactly the swallows coming back to Capistrano, but I’m glad to tell you that a crow stopped by my porch the other day to give me the hairy eyeball; no doubt blaming me for the nasty, non-globally warm turn in the weather. Sorry about the sleet, guys. I like crows. Years ago, bunches of them used to gather on the porch in the morning to wake me up. It’s far more civilized than an alarm clock. Then, the West Nile Virus hit, and there wasn’t a crow to be seen. Luckily, there’s no virus that’s 100% deadly (a good thing to remember), so it’s exciting to see the First Crow of Springtime in Old Takoma. I can only hope that she (there’s not a lot of sexual dimorphism among crows - might as well be politically correct here) brings along her friends.
Crows make pretty good neighbors. True, they’ve had some poor marketing: a flock of crows is properly called a “murder” of crows. The same grouping of larks is called an “exultation”. Larks got first pick. Crows can be loud, but that’s how they communicate. You could say the same about me. Konrad Lorenz demonstrated that they learn things very quickly (at least their hoity-toity European cousins, the jackdaws, do, anyway), and they can then communicate what they’ve learned to the rest of the flock. Or, the rest of the murder, if you like. They work cooperatively to repel enemies (another hat-tip to Herr Doktor Lorenz) and to protect each other’s young. They actively share food with non-related members of their community; something most primates don’t do. And they’re clean: they don’t foul their nests, and they’re always dressed to the nines. All in all, you could say that crows exhibit many of the behaviors that we aspire to in our best moments; things we’d like our children to learn.
So, as these elegant neighbors are moving back to our neighborhoods, we should all look around and take stock of our surroundings. Have we been taking care of things in their absence? Has the nest been getting a little foul of late? Maybe we haven’t been sharing with or protecting each other as much as we should? I don’t speak the language, so I don’t know if I’ve got the right excuses. Maybe the crows will understand. Or maybe it’s time for a little Spring shape up. Because, my friends, Black is Beautiful.
John Hume
Design Chair
Comments
You are correct that the population of crows was decimated by West Nile Virus a few summers ago. However, crows are year round residents, so the "first crow" is only the first crow that you noticed - not the first crow that is here. Still I'm glad that you notice the crows.
David Blockstein,
ornithologist
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Quite right - I suppose I should have said that either the population pressure had gotten great enough that one of my friends had decided to check out my meager porch, or that food scarcity had caused one of them to expand territory to my yard. I suspect the former. In either case, there's a raft of them in the park raising a commotion. Ah, the children of the night. How sweetly they sing!
Posted by: David Blockstein | February 26, 2007 11:23 PM
Oh, I love crows and have been excited about seeing and hearing them again in Takoma Park! I remember about three years ago when they all disappeared there was a dead squirrel on the side of the road. It seemed like it was there forever. I remember thinking to myself "now if the crows were here, that squirrel would have been gone in a matter of days".
Posted by: Christine | February 13, 2007 02:33 PM