A Bird Like Us
by Madeline Bodin
Crows are a lot like us. Not only do they like to live in the same places we do, but they also live as we do.
"There is probably no organism on Earth that as more
similar social system to modern, Western humans," says Dr. Kevin J.
McGowan, an ornithologist at
Crows mate for life. A young crow couple may break up if their first nesting attempt is unsuccessful, but otherwise, it's 'til death do they part.
Crow kids stick around the nest. In many bird species the young fly off as soon as they are able, never to see their parents again. Young crows, however stay with their parents for up to six years (of a 17 to 21 year lifespan). The youngsters help raise their brothers and sisters. They help build the nest, gather food for the nestlings and defend the nest from predators. Young females sometimes try to incubate the eggs when mom is away, but they are chased off when one of the breeding adults catch them at it.
When crows go off to start their own families, they may not go far. Males tend to travel just a little over a half-mile before settling down. Females travel a bit farther. McGowan reports that two of the longest-lived crows in his study are brothers who don't live far from each other. He's also seen seven generations of one crow family nest in the same area.
Crows have another social quirk that McGowan is much too smart to compare to the behavior of humans. In crows, only the female sits on the nest. The male's job is to bring home the bacon -- or rather, the earthworms, grasshoppers, berries or whatever else he can find, to the nesting female. (Crows omnivores, eating just about everything, including live-caught animals, fruit, grains and carrion.)
When mom is away, dad will guard the nest, rarely going as far as standing in the among the eggs, but never settling down to incubate them.
Crows are nothing if not adaptable. That may be why they are found in woodlands, farmlands, the suburbs and even big cities. (How smart are crows? "Smarter than many undergraduates, but probably not as smart as ravens," McGowan has written.)
Crows started moving into big cities in the 1950s. (McGowan
doesn't consider any town or city in our area large enough to be considered
truly urban. He has been faulted by other scientists for calling parts of
So why live in cities at all? McGowan notes that city lights
offer crows some protection from their biggest natural predator, the great
horned owl. Since discharging firearms is usually prohibited in cities, it
offers protection against human predators as well. He also notes that many of
our biggest trees are now found in cities.
While crows live in family groups in the spring and summer,
come winter they sleep in roosts in numbers totaling hundreds, thousands, or,
in at least one instance, two million crows. In
Studies have shown that crows tend to migrate to warmer climates in the average January temperature of their nesting territory is zero degrees. McGowan says that it is very possible that crows' migration patterns are changing along with our climate.
What can these birds that are so similar to us teach us about our environment? McGowan has a hopeful take on the question. Crows have been hated by humans for a long time. For generations we've shooed them and shot them. Still, crows seem as abundant as ever.
"They are very adaptable and make the best of any situation," says McGowan. "What they can show us is that they are survivors despite of much persecution. There will always be birds out there no matter what we do. We can do things like cut down the forests and pave them, but we are not going to scare everything away."
Of course, not all of nature is as resilient as the crow. The plants and animals that survive and thrive in our presence tend to be both generalists and very adaptable. Just like us.
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