Have you ever looked at the ducks at Brown Park in Norwich, CT? There is one fine fellow there with a black beak. I was told he is an Icelandic Duck identified by his dark beak. I don’t know for certain he is but I do know he enjoyed some of the corn kernels I tossed in the water so I had a better view of the ducks.

Then my eyes wandered to the back side of the gazebo where there was a murder. Surprisingly there was not a lot of screaming nor blood or even a body but boy was there a gathering of by-standers. Looking around and waiting patiently for someone with more authority to arrive and make an announcement of some kind. The ground was black with the onlookers jostling for the best position. It was a gathering of big black crows. I am used to seeing them high in the trees looking for juicy morsels to eat but this day the crowd was on the ground. I tossed them a few kernels of corn which earned me a glare as if to say, “Is this the best you can do? ” Crows are predators and scavengers, that will eat practically anything. I read their diet consists of various road-kill, insects, frogs, snakes, mice, human fast food, even eggs and nestlings of other birds. An adult crow needs about 11 ounces of food daily.

Curious about why this large group might be on the ground I googled “crows.”

I learned a group of crows is called a “murder” thanks to old folk tales and superstitions. There is even a folktale that crows will gather and decide the capital fate of another crow.

Crows are members of the Corvidae family, that includes blue jays. They are used as a symbol of death and dying because as scavengers they are found where people and animals are expected to die soon. They are loud, rambunctious, very intelligent and considered a pest by farmers trying to protect their crops and seedlings. Crows live all over the world, except for Antarctica.

Some people fear them because of their black feathers. Research demonstrated crows are actually very social and caring creatures, and also among the smartest animals on the planet. Crows use at least 250 different calls. The distress call brings other crows to their aid, as crows will defend unrelated crows.
They learn quickly, easily and can even make and use tools.

Crows mate for life with tight-knit families, and are very social roosting in huge numbers (in the thousands) to protect themselves from enemies like red-tailed hawks, horned-owls, and raccoons.
West Nile Virus has killed 45% of American crows since 1999, though they’re still listed on the Least Concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Learn more about crows at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/a-murder-of-crows-crow-facts/5965/
I never did discover why they were all on the ground.

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