May 25 2001

Look at the two fellows on the left. Well they're probably not two fellows, They're probably a fellow and a girl. Crows are real family birds. They are very gregarious flying around in large flocks during the day and yet maintaining a special pair relationship. They live in rookeries. What's a rookerie Dad? It's a group of trees in which, in their wisdom, crows decide it would be a good place to build a few nests and set up home. So you will seldom see one crow's nest on it's own. Magpies on the other hand tend to nest further apart from each other even though they are members of the crow family. Crows seem to be intelligent birds doing things with a sense of purpose. They have a certain arrogance as well. I'm sure you have noticed the way they give a little hop out of the way on the roadside as you drive towards them. They always leave it 'till the last minute and then move only just enough to prevent being run over.

There's a pied crow on the left. He looks like a Magpie doesn't he. I love to see crows going home in the evening. They're like a load of fellows going home after a football match all heading in different directions and yet all going in the same direction. They look totally disorganised. It's as though they are changing company all the time as they fly. "I'm going over to talk to that fellow", " That's all right Jack, I'm going over to talk to your one over there". "That's OK, Say hello to your man over there for me while your at it". They're criss-crossing all the time as they fly. And then you have the straglers. The lone bird who stayed in the field too long and barely makes it home before dark. Occasionally you will get a pair of crows nesting away from the conventional rookery. It may be another case of "It seemed like a good idea at the time". I learned the other day that a pair of crows built a nest under an over-hanging ledge of a roof of a warehouse. This guy had reason to go onto the roof to do some work and unwittingly got too close to the nest. Before he knew it one of the crows set about him giving him a few smart taps on the back of the head with his chisel of a beak. This was enough to land him in hospital for the rest of the day and now he appears complete with head bandage and a red face trying to explain how he was set upon by a crow. I am indebted to Clondalkin Ray who was the source of this information.