I have found two dead crows over the past week. I have reported both to the CA health department, who have a dead bird reporting program for west nile virus abatement. It seems possible/probable that these birds died of WNV. It looks like they just dropped dead suddenly. I found both of them in an area near a tree where a group of crows regularly hangs out, and found them very soon after they died and they seemed otherwise healthy.
Anyway, it was kind of upsetting to me to find the birds because I love crows and I feed them peanuts off my balcony, and they visit me all the time. A group of them hangs out in my neighborhood, so I kind of feel like I know them. I think it’s so sad they had to die like this!
So on to my questions: why does WNV affect crows so badly? What about other birds? What about scrub jays (or any type of jay?)
How exactly do they die from it? Is it painful for them? How long after infection is it fatal?
Also, crows are very social birds and live in family groups. So when one dies, how does this affect the other crows? When I found the dead crows, I noticed other crows in the area watching and acting strange, and cawing at me when I approached the dead birds. I feel sorry for them… they have to wonder what happened to their friends.
Lastly, does WNV pose a serious threat to crows? I have read it is lessening their numbers, but are they at risk of becoming endangered? Will we ever be able to control WNV?
Thank you in advance for any info you can give me!!
If by “a serious threat to crows” you mean that it kills nearly all infected crows, yes. As you are worried that the crows will be wiped out, nobody’s sure yet but crows are back in my neighborhood, the first place in Illinois where birds killed by WNV were found, so I’m optimistic.
You can learn everything you want to know from the Audobon Society. The documents are all in PDF format.
The government can test the dead birds for the virus. You said you reported the birds, (that’s good) but you didn’t say if they were tested. Crows are corvids, and the virus seems to hit the corvids harder than other kinds. The virus is passed by mosquitoes, not directly from one bird to another. However, an infected bird can fly a long way before dying, so the disease can quickly spread from one area to another, “as the crow flies.” Mammals can get the virus from a mosquito that has bitten an infected bird. Some people have died from it, but it’s not automatically fatal. Early symptoms are like getting the flu.
We are encouraged to fight the mosquitoes by removing or treating small spots of standing water. Wear long sleeves and pants, and use mosquito repellant.
Is it a danger to crows in general? In some areas it is. A year or two ago, the Washington, D.C. area was almost completely devoid of crows.
I’m not a real expert on WNV, but it scares me, so I have read everything I could find about it.
Yes, both birds have been picked up by the local health department for testing. They said they would call me within a few weeks to tell me if they were infected, and it hasn’t been that long yet, so I don’t know if they were positive.