WOOD & WORDS

So earlier I said I was going to find out why crows roost:

One ornithologist, Michael Westerfield, theorizes that the majority of the birds in these groups are younger, unmated birds without their own territory. The socialization aspects are vital to these birds in seeking out mates. As Westerfield says, “The communal roost serves primarily a social function where birds challenge each other, find potential mates, and communicate, in one way or another, their individual and joint experiences.”

Here’s two crows caught making out at a pre-roost “staging” area in the late afternoon.

Crows Making Out, photos by C.A. Willis

Further Spooning

I’ve heard that the roosts may be used as information centers, to help gather useful knowledge such as plentiful food sources, or, that roosts may provide safety through numbers from predators. Watching the crows flying, cawing, circling, diving, whirling, lighting and rising up all over again in such huge black clouds of such mind-bobbling numbers, my girlfriend speculated that it must be pure fun, and exhilarating, just to be a part of it.

Other opinions I’ve heard, though, state that almost nothing is known about why crows form these communal roosts or of the dynamics of the populations involved. For well over an hour before dark, the sky is just filled with birds, all coming in from one direction to spend the night. One thinks of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. But it’s way more awesome than that – in the true sense of the word. Awesome and mysterious.

The crow below seems a bit concerned or embarrassed. Maybe we shouldn’t have filmed them making out.

A look of concern?

Or maybe it just wants us to stop anthropomorphizing?