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A Murder of Crows…

Okay, I admit. Birds freak me out a little bit. I can see their resemblance to ancient dinosaurs, lizard-y scaly creatures, all talons and beaks…and curiosity. And now a recent NPR (National Public Radio) on-line article confirms my fears: crows remember us. Don’t make them mad. I took the test to see if I could find the crow in the crowd, use my memory and visual skills, and alas, could not. I couldn’t get a job as a scarecrow. I looked for a rounder eye, fluffier feathers, a scratched or hooked beak, and still, the crows escaped my memory. If one mean raven can ruin Edgar Allan Poe’s night, surely a few surly crows can make me feel uncomfortable. I know birds are vital to our planet’s health and ecosystem. Heck, where do you think the phrase ‘canary in a coalmine’ comes from? They are watching out for earth, and it’s probably best not to personify them too much, if at all. But, fears are irrational. And I knew crows were smart — I just didn’t know they were smarter than I am.

To check out the NPR video, article, and test your knowledge of crows, click here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106826971

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2 thoughts on “A Murder of Crows…

  1. Wow…I wonder if that mean girl changed her evil ways; think about it, even a bird thought her actions were vengeance-worthy! Look out! (Literally!)

  2. Jean Craighead George has some uncanny crow stories in There’s a Tarantula in My Purse. When I taught fourth grade, her story about keeping crows as “pets” was in our reader. One of George’s crows walked her kids to the bus stop every day, and (I might not remember this 100% accurately) it noticed one of the neighborhood girls picking on the kids. Later, it followed that girl trying to peck her at her eyes. They had to take the crow far out into the woods in hopes he did not find them again to keep him away from the mean girl (and her eyes). Weird, no?

    Crows are definitely interesting creatures.

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