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Re: in defense of crows



Dear Corvidaephilos (lovers of Crows and allies),

I am a initiated man in the ManKind Project. Every man has a sacred animal
name, in the Native American tradition. I am Raven. I agree with Mike
(whose frequent posts I always love, by the way-what a wonderful gift to
have his Central European
perspective on our avifauna!) that Fish Crows
are not the most poetic harbringer of Spring.

I also agree with Donna Baily that crows are
fascinating to observe. I especially love watching
their "big cousins" the Ravens at Caesar's Head,
SC, where they now breed, or along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I observe the
Fish Crows every day at Lieber Correctional Institution here
in Dorchester County,SC. They are quite a band of thieves and rascals (the
crows, I mean). I
give Donna a big "uh-huh"!

Let's be Listers but let's also slow down and take the time to really watch
individual birds. Mating
behavior has begun, what a show! Look for Cardinals bringing inchworms to
the females,
for example. Kind of like a young man driving up in a shiny new car to
attract the ladies!?

Ravens, in fact, are among the most magical and sacred of all bird species
in history and myth around the world, accompanying Wotan (Odin),sent by Noah
to find the dry land, mentioned by Homer on their roost on Odysseus's
island,
and depicted as the guide to the dark shadow
world by many cultures. Stay close and study
the birds, they guide and nurture our souls.
We fly with the birds in our dreams.

Steve Compton
Summerville,SC
Dorchester County
mailto:scompton@sc.rr.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Slyce Bailey" <dsbailey@conterra.com>
To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 10:31 PM
Subject: in defense of crows


> >By the way, what is here a "sign of spring". In central Europe (Poland)
it is
> >usually Skylark and Lapwing. Don't tell me that is Fishcrow! I would
expect
> >some more... handsome species.
>
> Mike -
>
> As an acknowledged fan of corvids of any hue, let me suggest that what
they
> may lack in visual excitement, they more than make up for with intricacies
> of behavior.  I've often said that if crows had opposable thumbs, we'd be
in
> for a lot of mischief.  They make enough trouble for Red-tailed Hawks and
> Great Horned Owls without thumbs.  For several months, I got a chuckle out
> of several (usually three or four) American Crows who perched on an
overpass
> sign over the interstate I take into work and watched traffic on a daily
> basis.  I could see their heads moving back and forth as cars passed.
> Occasionally they cawed at each other and then went back to watching
> traffic.  I thought it humorous that the birds were watching people.
> American and Fish Crows are two of the very few species who can be
observed
> observing people when the people are not a direct threat to the birds.
They
> may be "just crows" but careful observation might yield an example of the
> sometimes complex, sometimes adaptive, sometimes mystifying behavior of
crows.
>
> So, yes, the "uh-huh" of the Fish Crow is one of the first signs of
spring.
> The parade of color comes later.
>
>
>
> Donna Slyce Bailey
> Winnsboro, SC
>
> e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com
>
> URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
>      "Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina"
>