Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I guess that's what it's called when there's a flock of crows. There must have been over twenty of them this morning, sitting on an electrical line that goes over a busy intersection in town.
Not sure I've seen that many crows together before, I wonder if I should worry about that!
Let me congratulatee you on your erudition. Since this is the Nature forum it's the discussion of collective nouns related to venery is not inappropriate.
Location: Los Angeles>Little Rock>Houston>Little Rock
6,489 posts, read 8,813,341 times
Reputation: 17514
Are you sure they weren't grackles? Every fall in Houston the grackles would congregate on the power lines in the early evening. Son and I called it "Happy Hour". In some spots, like a local grocery store, it would get downright eerie, reminiscent of "The Birds".
I guess that's what it's called when there's a flock of crows. There must have been over twenty of them this morning, sitting on an electrical line that goes over a busy intersection in town.
Not sure I've seen that many crows together before, I wonder if I should worry about that!
Hi pugster,
It depends on whether they are a murderous murder of crows.
My late wife used to buy cheap dry cat food to feed crows to keep them around here because she believed in their value for cleaning-up the deceased forest critters. Whenever she left the house with their ration of food, they raised a raucous welcome cry. There was a permanent cadre of about 20 crows and occasionally throughout the year when they held conventions, there must have been 50. Oh the noise they made! Even today when they're no longer being fed, they're patrolling the property regularly and whenever the hawk stops by, 10 crows instantly materialize.
One time a watch that fell off while I was on the tractor mysteriously appeared on the driveway turn around spot. The band had broken while I was out in the field mowing, Anyway, there's no doubt in my mind that a crow returned it.
A "murder" of crows can be enormous, with hundreds of birds. There are a few spots around North America that are major roosting locations for crows.
Some of the woods near Ottawa form a large roosting area for crows. I've seen them overhead, making their way home as the sun sets... they go on and on... it gets creepier as the minutes tick by!
Are you sure they weren't grackles? Every fall in Houston the grackles would congregate on the power lines in the early evening. Son and I called it "Happy Hour". In some spots, like a local grocery store, it would get downright eerie, reminiscent of "The Birds".
In the 70s, 77 million starlings and grackles set up winter roosts in Ky. and Tenn. Five million chose the pine woods at Ft. Campbell military reservation, whereupon the army destroyed many of them creating an environmental flap.
I did a web search and could find only PDF files and sites that required payment for the relevant articles on same.
I can hear Homer Simpson saying something about a 'murder of crows'... I thought that was only him being stupid, if I'm not just imagining him saying it.
In the 70s, 77 million starlings and grackles set up winter roosts in Ky. and Tenn. Five million chose the pine woods at Ft. Campbell military reservation, whereupon the army destroyed many of them creating an environmental flap.
I did a web search and could find only PDF files and sites that required payment for the relevant articles on same.
I can vouch for your story . I lived in the area (West Tennessee) as a young teen in 1972/73/74, and remember the bird "infestation". They literally blackened the skies when they flew--people were having issues with the paint on their cars being compromised due to the droppings. It was a huge deal.
Years later, as a nurse, I saw an increased incidence of histoplasmosis (a fungal disorder related to, among a few other things, bird droppings.) in patients who had lived in that area during that time period.
...There was a permanent cadre of about 20 crows and occasionally throughout the year when they held conventions, there must have been 50. Oh the noise they made!...
In the winter months, crows gather in large flocks at night for protection from predators. They don't do this in the spring and summer because at those times they are at their nests. A few of these nighttime winter roosts are in cities because there are fewer predators there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. I lived in the area (West Tennessee) as a young teen in 1972/73/74, and remember the bird "infestation". They literally blackened the skies when they flew--people were having issues with the paint on their cars being compromised due to the droppings. It was a huge deal.
