Exploring the Dawn Murder of Crows Outside My Window
My insights from an unexpected visitor
I awoke this morning to a strange, raspy chirp call coming from outside my bedroom window. At first, I wasn’t paying attention to it, but then I started to wonder why I wasn’t hearing the usual birdsongs that normally greet me each day. Is it because of the rain? What’s going on outside? It sounds like a crow. I really don’t know too much about crows so I started to wonder and asked myself more questions as I prepared myself a cup of coffee. As I listened more closely, I realized that this sound wasn’t a chirp at all. This chirp sounded like a crow call for sure, vs. the Northern Cardinal, Eastern Towhee, or House Finch chirp sounds that I enjoy so much, which are also in my area. So I peeked outside, and I spotted it! It was a confident crow perched on what appeared to be a maple or sycamore tree outside of my window.
From what I do know, crows are highly intelligent birds, and although they are known for their noisy and distinctive crow calls they are also known for being aggressive scavengers. Realizing that I don’t know much about these common yet mysterious birds, I decided to turn to the internet.
Question?
“Can you tell me why I’m randomly hearing the sound of crows outside my window this morning instead of birds?”
Of course, if I wanted to drill deeper into the specifics; my location, the weather, time of day maybe, and the fact that there is construction going on outside would all be considered ~ but without going into all the additional specific questioning, it turns out that crows are very social and family-oriented. Crows also have partner mates and as mates, they stay paired for life! I also “quickly” learned that older Crow siblings care for the younger ones.
Who would have thought crows were so family-oriented?
Okay so, I believe my dopamine kicked in a little (refusing not to go down the rabbit hole)… so here’s what else I “quickly” learned.
Crows have large brains allowing them to use tools, solve problems, and can even hold grudges against specific people who have wronged them. I mean, I’ve seen this happen in the movies but I never thought too much more about crows holding grudges. Wow!
Then I learned, that while crows do eat carrion (the decaying flesh of dead animals, which includes human flesh), and raid trash cans, they mostly consume insects, nuts, and fruit. Meanwhile, I was always under the impression that they “love” road kill and were “mostly” meat eaters. So to say that they “typically” consume nuts and fruits was interesting to me.
In final, since this was a “quick” search (wink), I learned that their loud calls actually help them to identify each other and mark territory. So maybe that’s what they were doing this morning. There’s also a highway not too far away so I can only imagine what else this crow or crows were up to.
Not bad for a quick synopsis right? …
Overall, crows don’t have to always have a negative connotation tied to them. They have families and are intelligent too. The visitation this morning could have been a lot of things since crows are animals of the wild.
I will continue to observe the who, what, when, where, and whys behind this creature in my area, but getting a visit today added a sense of wildness to my morning routine and reminded me how much is still unknown about the creatures we share this world with. I hope they return again, without scaring all the other birds away, to crowing their rusty song.
I enjoy sharing my key takeaways when it comes to my experiences or something new I’ve learned so here are my 7 key takeaways related to the crow(s) that visited today …
7 Keys of Knowledge about Crows
- Crows are highly intelligent and social birds.
- Mated pairs stay together for life and older siblings help care for the young.
- Their large brains allow them to use tools, solve problems, and hold grudges.
- While they eat some carrion and trash, they mainly consume insects, nuts, and fruit.
- Their loud calls help them identify each other and mark territory.
- Crows add a sense of wildness and remind us of the mysteries of nature.
- They are interesting birds that deserve appreciation, despite their noisy
P.S. A “murder of crows” is a collective noun used to describe a group of crows. The term originates from folklore and superstitions surrounding the crow’s association with death and its scavenging behavior. Crows were often seen near battlefields, hospitals, cemeteries, or gallows, where they would feed on carrion and wait for opportunities to scavenge on dead bodies
What’s your interpretation of crows when you see them? Do you have a story to share?
P.S.S. If you made it this far … the birds came back to chirp their songs a couple of hours later. The crow left, the sun came up, and the rain was gone. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
