Literally a murder of crows?!?

Ruana

I've just chased off 3 crows (maybe rooks, I couldn't see quite clearly) that were viciously attacking another crow. I've saw crows fighting in the past but nothing like this; one crow seemed to be the main aggressor while the other 2 took a step back. I'm pretty sure the crow would have been pecked to death if I hadn't have shooed them away and when it managed to fly off it was pursued by the other 3.

What would cause this? Would it be just due to the time of year and competition over food/territories/mates etc?

It just seemed very bizarre and out of the ordinary. I know robins will fight to the death over territory but I thought crows were quite sociable and not prone to random acts of violence against their own kind?

cowzerp

Probably a sick or weak crow been attacked, instinctive behaviour if it is..

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Crows are very social species and live in large extended family groups. That does not mean, however, that they are friendly with all other crows. Birds may fight for a number of reasons, such as defending territory boundaries, protecting their mate (or sexual access to them), or defending some other resource. Crow fights within a family are usually short and involve only a few pecks. Crows, in my experience, actually seem to have very few intra-family squabbles compared to some bird species. Fights between members of different families, however, can be protracted and deadly. I frequently see crows locked together tumbling out of trees in the spring. I have witnessed killings on a few occasions.

Chasing off birds in these circumstances is futile and really just interfering.

Half-cocked

There is something called a 'crow court' in rural folklore where a group of crows gather and seem to pass judgement on an individual which results in a good hiding or even death. Never seen it myself but I know two farmers who say they have. As above, there is probably some sort of territorial dispute going on. It is interesting that this behaviour has become part of folklore.

Kess73

Half-cocked wrote: »

There is something called a 'crow court' in rural folklore where a group of crows gather and seem to pass judgement on an individual which results in a good hiding or even death. Never seen it myself but I know two farmers who say they have. As above, there is probably some sort of territorial dispute going on. It is interesting that this behaviour has become part of folklore.

Magpies do the exact same thing, not surprising as they are corvids too, but I have seen Magpie "justice" being handed out, and it can be brutal.


Speaking of magpies and other corvids, only yesterday I watched five magpies and a large number of crows and jackdaws try to intimidate my local female sparrowhawk. She had just nutted a wood pigeon, and the corvids tried to mob her and chase her off.

The Sparrowhawk did not have a bit of it, she stood on top of her catch, and did not back down, and had a few swipes at anything that got too close.

She is a big bad tempered sprawk at the best of times, and she stands out as she is a bit bigger than the average female sprawk. Have seen her kill a magpie before so the local corvids would be well aware of her.

Ruana

Kess73 wrote: »

Magpies do the exact same thing, not surprising as they are corvids too, but I have seen Magpie "justice" being handed out, and it can be brutal.


Speaking of magpies and other corvids, only yesterday I watched five magpies and a large number of crows and jackdaws try to intimidate my local female sparrowhawk. She had just nutted a wood pigeon, and the corvids tried to mob her and chase her off.

The Sparrowhawk did not have a bit of it, she stood on top of her catch, and did not back down, and had a few swipes at anything that got too close.

She is a big bad tempered sprawk at the best of times, and she stands out as she is a bit bigger than the average female sprawk. Have seen her kill a magpie before so the local corvids would be well aware of her.

I've saw corvids ganging up on hawks before now, but just never saw them ganging up on their own kind. Interesting how it's become part of folklore though, I'd never heard that before about a 'crow court'.