Remy's Awesome Thing of the Day

When Murder Moves In

I don’t mean that literally, obviously. When I say “murder”, I mean “a murder of crows”. Not only is that one of the best names for a group of animals (followed closely by “an unkindness of ravens”), but it’s one of those sights that can be incredibly dramatic in the right conditions.

For a time, I lived in Troy, NY. A cute little victorian ‘burg. During the winter, it became home to a murder of crows. And I don’t mean a dozen or so birds, like have taken to congregating in the local grocery store’s parking lot near me (and which prompted this post). If that’s a murder, the group of crows that showed up in Troy were more properly called “an apocalypse of crows”.

You almost didn’t think it was winter, because the trees weren’t bare- they were covered with crows. When they took to the air, their caws shook the brownstones, and the trees sighted with relief. They became a cloud. Victorian architecture and gigantic flocks of crows is so very Edgar Allen Poe.

It wasn’t all Lenore and the Conquerer Worm, though. Birds poop when and where they feel like. That many birds painted the sidewalks white. It was somewhat disgusting, and the city was called upon to “Do Something!” Well, they tried everything, but once crows pick a place to roost, they only move on when they feel like it.

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