OCTOBER 26, 2017 // 15
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3 60-642-7880
304 37th Street | Astoria, OR 97103
503-325-7768
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Y PIZ Z A
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#1 12th Street, Astoria, OR
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503.755.1818
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92111 Highlife Rd, Warrenton
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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