There isn’t much point to this thread other than to get a recent experience off my chest.
This morning I found an injured crow in front of my apartment. Its left wing was clearly broken. Granted I’m no medical expert on avian anatomy but the odd angle and dragging wing left little doubt. I immediately called Chicago Animal Control to come out and get the bird.
Since the bird was able to walk and was roaming the street I took it upon myself to keep an eye on it so Animal Control could get it when they arrived. It didn’t take long for me to become acutely aware of several other crows in the vicinity. They had been sqawking like crazy for awhile but that isn’t uncommon around here so I had ignored them…till they MADE their presence know. The little fuckers actually attacked me (actually they are rather large little fuckers)!
My first clue was while standing some distance away from the injured crow when I hear a loud ‘THUNK’ from the car parked next to me. I turn to look wondering what that was when I hear something else drop next to me…a hunk of tree bark. I look up and two crows are above me tearing pieces off the tree and dropping them on me! I shit you not! I know crows are supposed to be intelligent but I was surprised by this maneuver.
Deciding it’d be best to get out from under them I walk a short distance and a third crow dive bombed me…no other word for it. I’ve had birds fly near me before but there was no doubt this crow was sending me a message…I actually felt the wind from its wings as it passed just over my head.
Message received. I’m thinking they are looking out for their injured comrade so I back far away from the injured bird. Stupid of me to think this was their motivation. After a few minutes the other crows drop down and surround the injured crow and start taking nips and stabs at it with their beaks. Shocked (although I know enough of animal behavior that I probably shouldn’t have been) I rush forward and shoo the crows away. They’re furious at this turn of events and squawking up a storm. Some of the noises were actually unfamiliar to me coming from a crow but I didn’t like the ‘new’ noises as they had decidedly ominous overtones (maybe I am applying interpretations of crow noises unfairly but I’m sticking with ominous…creeped me out).
My morning continues like this. Crows dive bombing me (many times), crows continuing to drop things on me (none hit) and chasing an injured bird up and down the block (not to catch it but trying to discourage it from going too far as well). Three calls to Animal Control for an ETA (never got one) and three hours later AC finally shows up. I understand Animal Control probably has more important things on thier plate such as capturing escaped lions and such but those crows actually had me worried for my safety not to mention I was getting tired of it all.
Still, all’s well that ends well. Not!
I figure that this crow that I spent the morning protecting so it could receive help was finally going to be saved. It is at this point that the AC person glibly tells me that the crow will be euthanized! Logically I know that makes perfect sense. Crows are not endangered and if anything are too abundant in this area. AC has limited resources and will apply free care to things like dogs and cats first and finally crows are carriers of West Nile Virus. As a result AC isn’t going to put an effort in here on the bird’s behalf.
Still, I felt I was doing this bird a favor and that I was doing a good thing. I try telling myself that euthanasia is probably preferable than the bird living in pain till it gets pecked to death by fellow crows but I still feel like shit.
Crap…I meant to post this in MPSIMS rather than The Pit. Sorry about that. I don’t really mind it here myself but if a Mod feels it needs moving go right ahead.
I don’t know how it works with crows, but I once read (in Sandman, not sure of legitimacy) about rooks and why it’s called a “parliament” of rooks. Apparently, they occasionally will all gather in one spot with one rook in the middle. They squawk for a while, or whatever it is they do. And then, at some point and all together, they either fly away and leave the middle rook alone, or they attack in unison, killing the middle rook brutally. It’s almost like it’s some kind of trial. So maybe the crows were in the middle of something like that and they attacked you for interfering.
First, a close friend and her husband were trying to rescue a baby crow who’d been hurt, and were attacked by the other crows. Maybe the crows thought you were trying to hurt the injured one? It’s kind of hard to explain to them that you weren’t, of course!
Second, I’ve been attacked by a crow in the last month too. However, I was just walking down the street, and it flew into my head with no warning. I would have loved to have had it try to drop something on my head, would have been less painful! I’m just glad/lucky that it didn’t try to claw/peck at me, it just hit the back of my head with its body, then flew around and came at me again. (By this time I was running to the end of the block) I can only assume there was a nest in that block. When I told people about it, I was told to call Animal Control (or whatever it’s called here in Canada). I refused, for similar reasons to what you found out. What exactly would they do, if it was protecting a nest? Move the nest? The babies will all die. Chase the mother/father off? The babies will all die. I mean, I’m like you, I’ve got no love for crows, but there’s no need to kill them just because there are a lot of them. It’s just acting on instinct.
I think you’re right to think of it in the way you said - at least a painful (relatively) quick death is better that what he would have had out on the street. I think you did the right thing. FWIW.
Maybe…no way to tell. I came upon the bird after it had been injured. Maybe other crows made it that way, maybe it fucked-up while flying, maybe it was hit by a car, maybe a dog or cat jumped it. Now way for me to tell.
In general I take the stance of letting mother nature do its own thing even if I don’t like the results (things like male lions killing another male lion’s cubs always gets to me so I sometimes have to force that perspective on myself). That said I just couldn’t ignore the injured bird. I have no special love for crows except inasmuch as I love all animals (including the ugly ones).
I wish I had never noticed the bird. It wouldn’t change the bird’s fate (one way or the other the bird’s injury was going to be fatal to it) but I’d be a lot less upset. To while away the time while waiting for Animal Control to show I’d talk to the bird and tell it everything was going to be ok and he (she?) would be flying again in no time. Yes, I know the bird didn’t understand any of that but I think it upsets me because I was deluding myself and then felt let down at the final result.
Why, yes, yes I do. You can see one of my little friends on my webpage, taking refuge from a rain shower by fleeing to the console of an Explorer. That little guy had a remarkable story. He had fallen out of his nest tree too early. His family managed to keep a cat away from getting the little guy for a few hours before I came along and snagged him. I took care of him for a few days until he developed enough strength to hang onto branches, whereupon I re-introduced him to his family by unceremoniously tossing him into a tall tree. His family rewarded me by screaming and yelling. (Actually, about a dozen crow families here at Rutgers always yell at me ever since I caught several of their kin in the early nineties. I think it has become tradition.)
Whack-a-Mole, I’m sorry your efforts weren’t rewarded with a more happy ending. But thank you for trying. Corvids, especially American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos ) are often regarded as evil, ugly birds, worthy of death and disdain. I think they are fascinating, beautiful family-oriented creatures. Kids often stay with Mom and Dad for years, helping young and dumb siblings become savvy adults.
Oddly, your example of the attacks on the injured crow seem to reflect the ASCAR (American Society for Crows and Ravens) basic premise: “All Corvis [members] are always right and will be unequivocally supported by other Corvis unless they are wrong.”
It is quite possible I misinterpreted their actions. I didn’t exactly wait to see what was up. I just assumed the worst and chased them away. Seems like I made a lot of bad assumptions in this whole deal so why not add one more?
For future reference is there some other organization I could call in the Chicago area besides city animal control that you are aware of?
I did see the link that DanielWithrow and appreciate it but none of those locations are close to me (i.e. much more than an hour drive away…in traffic two hours or more).
I absolutely love crows! I love to hear them call, love to just sit and watch them. They are so smart and so beautiful. I love crows and ravens so much, I’m about to get a crow or raven tattoo. brachyrhynchos, I’d be interested to learn more about ASCAR. I went to their site, and their last chronicle was published in 2001. Are they still active?
birdgirl, the Corvid Chronicles are produced a few times a year (irregularly). I got the last one earlier this year. If you’re interested in seeing what one looks like, send me an email and I’ll send you a copy.
Heh, Whack-a-Mole, I’m sure birdgirl is a lovely lady, but I’m more into the XY types.
I’m sorry your efforts weren’t rewarded with a more happy ending. But thank you for trying. Corvids, especially American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos 
) are often regarded as evil, ugly birds, worthy of death and disdain. I think they are fascinating, beautiful family-oriented creatures. Kids often stay with Mom and Dad for years, helping young and dumb siblings become savvy adults.