Murder Slaughter of Crows

[tyrc]

So, I took a video last night of what happens seemingly every night now at my college just past sunset.. It /must/ be thousands of them.

Click to view

....

Even that doesn't wholly convey the gravity of it all..

Comments

[bluedeer]

Darn you, Hitchcock! Giving them ideas!

[tyrc]

So far, they've shied away from people. So far!

[cyriljackal]

http://crowscare.keenspot.com/

[tyrc]

See, here we were wondering where all the crows could possibly live. We determined it must be a hive, and so there must be a Queen Crow. And it might look something like that first page. c_c

[cyriljackal]

Its actually a King Crow who's nigh immortal who commands all the others. From Native American myth.

[aaroncity]

to paraphrase Ghostbusters, that's a big crow.

[toob]

The same thing happens up in Santa Clara where we used to live. Crow and raven populations have exploded lately. It's VERY bad for the local environment -- they're extincting other birds.

[tyrc]

I can't tell you the last time I saw anything but a crow during the daytime, even in the sanctuary. While I'm sure the Canadian Geese will come back to hiss at students (they seem more aggressive than back in PA or NJ), beyond the crows its raptors - owls and hawks, usually at night.

I asked a professor I had, a biologist, if he knew what was causing it, but he had never seen anything like it himself.

[steffo42]

Jeez, we've only got a fraction of your crow population, yet we're already scaring them off with firecrackers... or trying to, anyway.

[tyrc]

What else could be done? We could stock the campus with coyotes!

[jonbuck]

We've got a murder of about 30-40 birds that like to roost in my condo complex every so often. God, what a racket!

[tyrc]

When there are that many crows at once, it creates a distinct but still identifiable roar. I think I understand why their flocks are called murders..