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#3018 "A Murder of Crows"
Oils on canvas 20 X 24 (inches).
Started Saturday, May 30th, 2026 |
My friend John Verburg captured a crow family on the wing in winter, which caught my eye. Thank you, John, for many happy hours at my studio easel.
The title, "A Murder of Crows" employs the traditional collective noun for a group of crows based on folklore rather than science.
- Historically, crows were scavengers common around battlefields, cemeteries, and gallows. There was a lot of brutality in the "good ol' days". The crow's dark plumage, loud cawing, and association with death led to their folklore reputation as bad omens.
- Other folklore suggests a murder of crows represented a trial where a flock would gather to judge, punish, and sometimes "execute" a transgressor. There are twelve birds in this flock, so maybe there is some truth to this interpretation.
In ornithology, scientists refer to a group of crows as a "
flock" or a "
roost".
A "murder of crows" is more fun like a parliament of owls, a convocation of eagles, a flamboyance of flamingos and a pandemonium of parrots, but I digress...
Crows are highly intelligent, social, and cooperative birds, rather than the sinister or dark creatures that folklore might suggest. They also have a long memory for anyone who treated them badly. Crows remember the faces of those who tried to hurt them. We treat all crows with respect and even help out with whole corn when times are tough.
Another range map for the American crow was created by the following in 2003 and appears more current and representative of the current range as we observe. Range map information for each species obtained from Ridgely, R.S., T.F. Allnutt, T. Brooks, D.K. McNicol, D.W. Mehlman, B.E. Young, and J.R. Zook. 2003
We enjoy watching the crows at Singleton, on the northern fringe of their year-round range. We see crows all year-round now. The northward expansion of crows and all species is consistent with the impacts of the climate crisis.
Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years. Young Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old. Most do not breed until they are four or more. The young help their parents raise the youngsters for a few years.
Crows lead a double life. It maintains a territory year-round in which the entire extended family lives and forages together. Individual crows often leave the home territory to join large flocks at dumps and agricultural fields, and to sleep in large roosts in winter. Family members go together to the flocks, but do not stay together in the crowd. A crow may spend part of the day at home with its family in town and the rest with a flock feeding out in the country.
Crows sometimes make and use tools. A captive crow used a cup to carry water over to a bowl of dry mash. Other crows have been observed to shape a piece of wood and then stick it into a hole in a fence post in search of food. Other crows sometimes break off pieces of a pine cone to drop on tree climbers near a nest.
Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred. Apparently, some winter roosts host up to two million crows! Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years.
In the last few decades, some of these roosts have moved into urban areas. One such roost can be found just 50 km southwest of Singleton in Kingston. Those crows are followed enthusiastically by many fans, including myself. Check out Crow Watch, Kingston, Ontario! A Facebook group has 1.8k members.
Crows have more than 20 calls. The common, harsh caw has several qualities and lengths that serve different purposes. You may also hear alert calls given to rally others to mob predators like owls... a murder in parliament!
The oldest recorded wild American Crow was at least 17 years and 5 months old when it was photographed in Washington State. A captive crow in New York lived to be 59 years old. So be kind to all crows. Some might be geriatric birds.
The following collage records my journey with the crow family.
Nature, art and science continue to make sense when not much else does ... I enjoy hearing and watching the Singleton Crows every day. They have something to say every time I head outside. They keep an eagle eye on us!
