Nothing to Crow about!

[Michael Alexander]

As a kid growing up in Oranjemund, I do not remember seeing crows in Oranjemund. However in the last 8 years, there are hundreds, if not thousands of these birds around the town now.... they have driven the owls out of town, even killing some of them..... down at the trees at the Freemasons Lodge, there were at least three owls living down there for years.... they have been chased away, all you see now is row apon row of black and white skwaaking crows..... One person has even see these grows chase a wee dog down the street..... they have been spotted killing an owl and the saddest part..... after speaking to nature conservation officials..... NOTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT THEM.... they are in a conservation area.....

[Andrew Darné]

On hearing a crow comotion outside one afternoon, closer inspection revealed 2 crows divebombing the neighbour's cat that was perched on the fence. It even sought shelter under the overhanging pondok roof but these ruthless intruders just kept at it, taking turns like 2 fighter planes, coming from over the roof diving downward at the edge of the fence with the "element of surprise".

The 'pests' wreak havoc with everything from the garbage skips to the powerlines. The bummer is these things are extremely intelleigent and learn quickly.

They even pirate other bird's nests, like the cuckoo, and either eat or destroy the eggs.

Walking the dogs along 5th Avenue lawns the other day I said to the Mrs it reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Scary man real scary.

[Bertie Horak]

When I was small in OMD the crows' nests were removed from the telephone lines because it caused some damage.  One nest had babies, and one looked strange, so it ended up at our house like so many weird and wonderful animals did.  This particular crow was a mutation - he was reddish-brown in stead of black.  We kept him a few years, he could speak quite well, and imitated the dogs and birds.  His name was "vaaljapie".

[toonfandangl]

Are you sure they are Crows the pic you have of the culprit looks more like a Magpie
and even their actions dive bombing.

Magpies at this time of year they are very active (dive bombing school kids 'etc') and
I know personally my youngest son had a nasty gash on his head on his way to school
when we lived in Melbourne.

If you look at this link you can see the similarities in the two birds



www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=24 -

[Michael Alexander]

Our ones are known as African pied crows..... ( must be something to do with that nursery rhyme....    )

[Michael Alexander]

Just looked at your link Frank, I think the local birds here are a little more bulk on them.....

[Delia]

In Native American spirituality, the Crow is the keeper of sacred law and is a Messenger.   The following is an extract from the Medicine Cards:

"Crow is an omen of change.  Crow lives in the void and has no sense of time.  The Ancient Chiefs tell us that Crow sees simultaneously the three fates -- past, present and future.  Crow merges light and darkness, seeing both inner and outer reality".

Something to think about with the radical changes O'mund has seen recently (and still is) and the Crow appearing recently in such vast numbers?

[toonfandangl]

I did have a chuckle over that Mike...............They were black birds in the pie... four and twenty.

That's an Aussie icon here Four and Twenty pies sold at all sports stadiums.

Delia has an other good interpretation of it ...............(stone a crow)..................

Interestingly (for me that is)  not far from me (far enough though) there is a Flying Fox sanctuary.


There is a creek that runs past it, in the summer it reeks (bat shit) for the last twenty years the guy living their has wanted the council to move the bats.

No way Bats before Humans!!!!!, anyway he tried to get the council to buy him out, No again.

Council in their wisdom decided to make it a tourist attraction, and spent enough rate payers money to have bought out the guy that lives there.

They erected barriers, information booths, a car park 'etc' 'etc'.

Well two years ago the bats pissed off and never came back!! the guy living their sold up to a property developer !! made a squillion out of it.

They have built 24 town houses to date on the land ................Just hope the BATS don't decide to return.                                 

[Andrew Darné]

Frank, definitley the pied crow (Corvus albus) . We've been on at the greenies for a solution to the over population of them and about them causing such havoc on the overhead powerlines. They've ID'd them as such. There are black crows (COrvus capensis) too, but not nearly as many.

@Bertie, was the birdie you had not a house crow (Corvus splendens)? They have a greyish brown body with black. Small populations of these were found in Durban since early 1970's and on the Cape Flats since the 1980's. The possibility is someone in OMD who kept one as a pet, got it from either DBN or CTN and it escaped here in OMD country and ended up breeding with a gewone pied crow... possible?

[SandyB]

As per Delia .. crows  ,, fascinating ,, intelligent creatures ,, and yes  very attached to mysticism ..  me also fascinated by them .. but would not risk having one as a pet in case  they damaged my dogs ,,,  and yes very destructive  creatures  ,,   the school across the road has  population in its huge trees   of  i think starlings .. those  blue black and yes sometimes fascinating combinations  of colours .. in fact in  their  interaction with crows  have  even  taken  adopted some of their charecterisics to get the lions share of food ... our  schlefera tree produces abundant supply of berries all year around .. and if other  smaller birds are there .. they  make  imitation  crow sound  to frighten them off ... but then  again they also courageous ..  I have seen many a pitched battle ala  the   battle of britiain  sky fights ..   two or  three of the  more protective  males or females .. doing the bombing and  scaring tactics  on the crows when they try to  raid their  nesting site ... its  fascinating to watch .. cos actually the crows are  so much bigger and could even take them  out  in mid air ..

[Bertie Horak]

Hi Andrew - this "Vaaljapie" was taken from a nest, its sibling was totally black, so I'm sure it was just a freak of nature.  I know about the ones you are talking about, but this little critter was definitely unique - more reddish than brown.  Even the eyes showed signs of inadequate pigmentation.

[Barbara Eia (Brownless)]

In England this bird is called a magpie..horrible birds..I have them nesting in a tree at the back of my garden so no smaller birds come and visit my garden.. 

[Bertie Horak]

Magpies are smaller than these white-chested crows.

[toonfandangl]

baby Rhyme

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds (magpies crows) baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird (magpies crows) and pecked off her nose!


Life is a laugh..................am off to 

[Michael Alexander]

But it's only 14h30..... middle of the afternoon.....