The most ubiquitous birds in this neck of the woods are black, bold and bountiful. The Sri Lankan crow’s large size, its glossy-black plumage and its raucous caw make it readily identifiable. I know what you're thinking. You believe that crows aren't that cool. That's okay. They have always fuelled rows over their controversial culling in several parts of the world such as Singapore.
The Singaporean environmental authorities contend: “Crows are everything that Singapore is not - raucous, undisciplined, dirty and disorderly - and they are not welcome here.” Filmgoers around the world expressed the same sentiment when, ‘The Birds’ a 1963 horror thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock centres on a small northern California coastal town that is inexplicably attacked and rendered helpless by massive flocks of aggressive birds.
Many consider crows, of the corvine family, as noisy, destructive, dirty, aggressive and clever. Cleverness, it seems, is the only corvine attribute to which people agree. After all, even the most rabid crow-haters would be forced to concur that crows could hardly be referred to as a bird-brained species by any standards. The crow’s reputation as a marauding mischief-maker or worse is unwarranted, insist many bird fanciers and some of the species’ biggest apologists. But let's start our own investigation with the basics about these common or garden blackbirds!
First, they start out looking pretty adorable as chicks. They are extremely fluffy and very cute. Still, don’t get too close or you are certain to be attacked by their vigilant parents. So it’s best to check out the babies from a safe distance!
Next crow fact, in case you didn’t know, is that they mate for life. And though they meet sexual maturity by age two, a lot of them don't reproduce until later than that. They are essentially monogamous, meaning they are one partner birds just waiting to meet that special someone, y'know?
They also exhibit ‘co-operative breeding behaviour’ which means that they watch out for the mom while she's incubating. And they all help feed the babies until they're self-sufficient. Some offspring even stay to help out with the next batch of babes.
These dark dive-bombers of the skies are out during fledgling season terrifying unsuspecting passersby.
They are extremely perspicacious, playful and protective of their young, during baby crow season when the young are learning to fly. You walk out of your front door, minding your own business, when a bird swoops in for a flyby. So never tread on their perceived territory even if you are within your legal rights in human terms.
If you happen to be close to their nest they will warn you off with a swooping sortie. Or there's a certain spot on your walk when a bird zips by and dive-bombs your head. Be warned that getting too close to the nest can enrage the parent birds and result in painful injuries. Remember these are large and formidable avians and their assaults can be sudden, brutal and often frightening. It’s traumatic because it happens unexpectedly and from above.
Some three decades or so ago, one of my former bald-headed journalist colleagues, Eustace was repeatedly swooped on as he walked to this same newspaper office. The same crow seemed to be waiting for Eustace each day swooping down a little closer each time until he made a direct hit on his bald-as-a-billiard-ball noggin. A highly agitated Eustace explained the phenomenon to his colleagues:
“I started to feel something ominous when all of a sudden a crow flew over my back and passed an inch or so over my head! That was its warning shot. I tried to make a run for it but it was too late. I couldn’t escape from the second air raid and this one was not just a warning. It was an intentional shot and a direct hit. The back of my head was fiercely hit with a pair of sharp claws that felt as if Captain Hook had hit with his steel claw.”
When he reached the office, Eustace went to the in-house medical clinic and had them disinfect the wound on his head. He later called the ornithologist at the Dehiwela Zoo about the crow attack asking: “Why me? Was it my shiny bald head?” He was reassured that the bird was not trying to peck him to death, because of his baldness.
The ornithologist said: “Don't take it personally. It's not you, it's because crows get very protective and territorial about their young. The bird wasn’t attacking. It was just trying to scare you away. It may seem like offensive behaviour and some people might find it provocative, but it's actually a defensive behaviour on the part of the bird. It's simply trying to persuade a potential predator away from the nest." Eustace had every right to call his winged attacker a ‘Blasted Blackguard!’
More than any other bird, the crow has been hunted and persecuted by man and still has managed to survive throughout its hereditary range and has adapted itself to new environments and conditions. Essentially, the crow’s survival can be attributed to its resourcefulness and intelligence.
One crow even stole the dentures from my former driver old Jaya, a man who had saved its life after it fallen out of his nest. The crow he had nurtured first managed to steal the poor guy's heart and then, his smile. Do you need more evidence of the incredible ingratitude and shameless quality of character of these birds?
Also pretty cool is the truism that a flock of crows is called a murder! That's right. A Murder! When you see a whole group of them roosting on a lofty high-tension cable then you can dramatize the scene as: ‘Murder on a high wire!’ Besides, that’s exactly what I would be tempted to do to some of these pestiferous avian menaces particularly when they swoop and squawk and strafe me with airstrikes in the same vein as fighter pilots.
My buddy Surchepps after a night on the tiles was woken up at 5 am by a cawing crow. It just wouldn't stop cawing. After an hour he felt like shooting the darn thing! Then another crow joined the cacophony and they started to have a jolly old conversation. Surchepps says: “I wanted to blow both their heads off! One more crow and there definitely would've been A Murder of crows!
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