Seattle Press on Line - UW Research Strictly For the Crows

UW Research Strictly For the Crows

Oct 18, 2000 -- Enter professor John Marzluff's office at the University of Washington and you'll come close to witnessing a shrine dedicated to the American black-feathered crow. Look around and you'll discover drawings, postcards and friendly photos such as the one depicting a playful crow with his beak in a compliant child's mouth as the bird plucks out a piece of food. Among the photos, crow cartoons and a real twigs-and-feathers crow's nest, sits the professor, an enthusiast and admirer of the bird, talking about his related ongoing research project at the UW. A major reason for Marzluff's research about crows here in Washington is to find out why their population is exploding. One theory is the crows thrive because of suburban settings and humankind's waste.

"Because of their ability to adapt to a changing environment, crows are able to take advantage of our sloppy, consumption lifestyle," Marzluff said. "Most species do not. It's rare for animals to have exploding populations."

Suburbia is crow heaven. It offers lawns with ready-to-eat worms for their young, trees for nesting, abundant insects and safety because there is no hunting in suburbia. Yet many crows are flocking to the city and Marzluff includes this in his research to try to find out why the migration is occurring.

One theory, he said, is that because crows operate individually in a complex social system, dominant personalities will be territorial and tend to mate, having offspring. These crow couples can be found in suburban settings. Other young, non-breeding crows are found to migrate to the city because they may be less aggressive in personality and the city provides easy pickings for meals, such as food from restaurant dumpsters.

Crows are highly intelligent and very social. This time of year, said Marzluff, if you happened to drive into the Montlake parking lot next to Husky Stadium about 6:30 in the morning, you would find 4,000 crows in the lot. He's not sure why they gather there in such large numbers but he has a good guess.

"It's like us going to a coffee shop," he said. "They're not eating, they could be warming their feet from roosting all night or just very social." A crow will live 20 to 30 years in the wild and is smart enough to be able to differentiate between thousands of individuals, as people do. Their voices are distinct and Marzluff says that although the birds look alike to us, they probably look unique to each other.

The abundance of crows has fostered hostility from some people who say the birds are a nuisance, and many crows are injured or killed because they live close to humans. "PAWS Wildlife Center received over 500 injured crows in 1999," said Jennifer Convy, rehabilitation manager for the center. "It's really common."

Convy cites several reasons for injury to the crows, such as being shot at by people, hit by cars, attacked by dogs or entangled in fences. Some of the injured birds have bands on their legs, indicating they've been tagged for research, as with Marzluff's project.

When Convy receives an injured crow with a research tag she or a member of her staff will use the information on the tag to contact the researchers and inform them that the bird has been injured.

Banding the legs of crows with colored tags helps Marzluff and his students conduct the research. The tagged bird is monitored for movement to see how large an area it may travel. This tells the researchers about the crow's migratory pattern. The public can help with research by reporting any sightings of a banded crow. To report a sighting, members of the public with access to a computer can log on to the web site http://courses.washington.edu/vseminar/main.htm and submit their report.

Cynthia Jones is a student in the University of Washington School of Communications News Laboratory.

Reader Comments

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Cheryl	Jun 13, 2003	Yorkville, NY	accountant
I've got a baby crow down in my back yard. I think it might have a broken wing. Any suggestions on who might be able to take care of it? I don't have any experience with injured wildlife and have 3 cats, so I don't feel I can bring it into my house.


Howard W. Welsh	Jul 06, 2003	Tacoma, WA	Teacher/ R.N.
Look for a "licensed wildlife rehabilitator" in your area. The local Audobon Society usually can provide a current list or you can get information by conducting a search on the internet. Unfortunately many people view crows as a pest so it is difficult to find someone willing to do the job. Provide a warm and safe place secure from your cats and other mauraders. Wear gloves when handling the crow and always wash with bactericidal soap when done. You may need to provide pedialyte and gatorade for the baby crow with an eyedropper for awhile. Moistened dog food is also well tolerated. Hopefully this young crow has survived until now and will live a full life of 25- 30 years with your care. In about 3 months you should be able to release it if it recovers its ability to fly. If it can fly it should be released in you back yard since that is where you found it and it is probably a member of a family of crows that lives in your neighborhood. Otherwise, consider giving it to a wildlife enthusiast in your area if you cannot identify a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.


Cate	Jul 31, 2003	Kingston, NY	student
I used to live in a town upstate where the crow population was similarly exploding, and got into several arguments over why they had come. Everyone else, save for a very few people, were of the opinion that driving them out of the park where they were living harmlessly and picking up trash and roadkill was a good idea. (Never mind that immediately after they began roosting in the middle of downtown) It's gratifying to see someone saying after actual studies more or less the same things I argued, and lovely to know that more people actually like the birds.


rodney mallette	Sep 11, 2003	cobourg	sheet metal worker
I would really like to have a pet crow. Is there any way that i could get one?


dave miner	May 23, 2004	west seattle	sales
saw a crow in our backyard in arbor heights ( west seattle ) it had a band on each leg. one one band appeared like green and white beads.


Shannon Reel	Nov 14, 2004	petersburg , West Virginia	industrial construction
I- 81 going through Harrisonburg, Va 2 years ago I noticed a huge gathering of crows. Now when I say huge I'm talking about in the area of and this isn't exagerated (40,0000) crows. For about 200-250 yards along the highway off of the Port Republic exit is where this was. This huge gathering of crows remained there for about 2 weeks. I'm not the only one that saw this so i'm not crazy, I don't think so anyways. Got any answers maybe.. I've heard some very interestings ones such as (Crow Court) and (Crows pick from the old bones when nothing else is left to eat) that rolls back to a bloodshed during the civil war in that vicinity.


Todd Bitz	Aug 28, 2005	Southern Alberta,Canada	Millwright
In the neighbourhood where I live there is innumerable large trees, and I have noticed that in the early evening crows congregate in the same cluster of trees down the street from my house every evening. They come from all directions by the hundreds, I've noticed this behaviour only late summer and fall. Is this some type of preperation to migrate? Also, I have never seen a crow chick (if thats what you call a young crow) or even a nest for that matter. Do they rear their young in southern climates or are they just very careful where their nests are located?


tom	Dec 16, 2005	seattle
I have a small game license and crow season is open until the end of january. I have hunted them on public national forest land before with a shotgun and it is a lot of fun. Do you know if it is legal to hunt them in Seattle with a pellet gun?


Frank Johnson	Feb 16, 2006	Boston	Manager
Good Service

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