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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2017)
OCTOBER 26, 2017 // 15 dining out A STORIA C ORNER D ELI ◆ Local ◆ Fresh ◆ Gourmet See for full menu 3 8TH & L, ON THE S EAV IEW BEAC H APPROAC H 3 60-642-7880 304 37th Street | Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-7768 W ED BURG ER NITES ARE BAC K ! for 22 $ ECIAL! Y PIZ Z A DA Piz 2 zas SP TU ES All orders take-out 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR North Coast and Peninsula 503.755.1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Favorite stop to & from the Coast ILIES FAM OME! C WEL Hungry Harbor GrillE 3 13 Pa c ific Hw y, Do w n to w n Lo n g Be a c h, W A 3 60-642-5555 • w w w.hu n gryha rb o r.c o m OUR N EW FAL L HOURS ! 11 AM – 8 PM M ON – S AT 9 AM – 8 PM S UN Now offering soups, paninis, beer & wine. Come check out our new addition. You don’t need to zip to come sip. 503.861.9875 92111 Highlife Rd, Warrenton www.highlife-adventures.com Imagine Your Restaurant Advertised Here! Wild Mushroom & Pike Beer Dinner Friday, October 27th at 7 pm Seaview, WA • 360.642.4150 shelburnerestaurant.com Advertise Y our Restaurant Here! 1157 N. Marion Avenue Gearhart 503-717-8150 www.mcmenamins.com CROWS By LYNETTE RAE McADAMS FOR COAST WEEKEND C lever, audacious and persistent on the one hand; brash, destruc- tive and annoying on the other. In one place, vener- ated as a messenger of the divine; in the next, perceived as a harbinger of death. No matter your opinion of the common crow (and every person seems to have one), this much is certain: Whether condemned or adored, revered or reviled, Corvus has managed to wing its way into nearly every land and culture on the globe, leaving its dichoto- mous but indelible mark at each new turn. Belonging to the fam- ily Corvidae, this genus encompasses more than 40 different species of crows as well as ravens, rooks and jackdaws. All close cousins, and practically indistin- guishable except for size and subtle color variations, these medium-large birds are recognized everywhere by their deeply black, iridescent feathers, broad bills and hoarse, distinctive voices. Originating out of central Asia, where ancient mythology equated them with nothing less than the almighty Sun itself, Corvus now inhabits every region of the Earth but South Amer- ica and Antarctica. Highly adaptable, and therefore considered some of the plan- et’s most successful inhabi- tants, these birds have made themselves at home in fi elds and forests, on farms and in cities, up in the mountains, out in the desert, and down by the sea. Essentially, everywhere they go, they thrive. Reaching sexual matu- rity at about 3 (with males taking a little longer), PHOTO BY LYNETTE RAE McADAMS A crow on the Astoria Riverwalk crows seek out partners that typically become mates for life, sharing equally in domestic responsibilities. Socially advanced, they can form tight-knit family groups, with nestlings often lingering for several years to help raise future siblings. In the wild, the life of an average crow spans seven to 10 years, with some species living up to 20. In captivity, the oldest corvid on record died at age 59. Famous for their intelli- gence and cunning, crows and their kin have one of the highest brain-to-body ratios in the animal king- dom, approaching that of the primates. Such advanced de- velopment has allowed them to hone communications and solve complicated problems, even going so far as to craft and use tools to secure food and other resources. In one recent Seattle study, a group of scientists disguised themselves in masks and abducted seven crows. Months after releas- ing them, the crows were still able to recognize and remember their captors, and attacked on sight. Even more surprising, the crows weren’t content to keep the insult to themselves, but spread word of the offense to others in their group. Three years lat- er, new generations of crows could still recognize the masks and take appropriate revenge, proving that the ex- periences of their elders had become not only common knowledge but, in fact, the stuff of Corvid legend. Culturally, crows have accompanied the stories and artwork of humanity for at least 30,000 years, when we fi rst started scribbling on cave walls. Worldwide, evidence of their importance is also revealed in folklore and literature. The ancient Aesop included their conniving an- tics in several famous fables, Shakespeare wrote them into his plays, and even today the acclaimed poet Mary Oliver exalts their ubiquity, hailing them “the deep muscle of the world.” Most recently — and perhaps most importantly — Corvus has reclaimed its timeless role as an enduring symbol of omniscience, appearing as the “three-eyed crow” in a major plot line of the fantasy book series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin. In the hit HBO television adapta- tion, “Game of Thrones,” the character is changed to a three-eyed raven. CW
