General Characteristics of Crow and RavenRaven and Crow, comparison of various attributes
Crow nest
Raven nest
The raven weighs about four times that of a crow. The raven wingspan is 4.5 feet. The crow wingspan is 3 feet. The raven has a powerful bill that is curved and adorned with a tuft of hair . The crow has a flat pointed bill. The number of ravens in the United States is 4 million . The number of crows is 31 million.
A raven's call is a low and slow croak. A crow's call is a caw-caw. Ravens express themselves with 100 different vocalizations. Crows express themselves with 24 different vocalizations. Ravens are acrobatic flyers and have been seen rolling, looping, and even flying upside down.
Raven likes to nest on cliff sides and high ledges in more rugged country, near to oceans and rivers. Crows nest in coniferous trees near farmland and open meadows. After the nesting period crows gather in large flocks in the thousands. Ravens also flock, but in small numbers, into the 50s. It has been observed that both raven and crow have poetic acrobats in their courtship rituals, flying together in the air and doing dives together. It also has been observed that both birds are devoted parents and mates.
They are both omnivorous eating grubs, insects, lizards, eggs, nuts, carrion and occasionally small animals. The raven has a reputation of following wolves along on their hunts, and eating the scraps that are leftover. This reputation became legendary in the tales of the Vikings, where there were fields of dead soldiers and the raven and wolf were seen to take advantage of this, and feed on the dead bodies. Thus developed the association of the Valkyrie with the raven, carrying the spirits of the brave soldiers to the halls of Valhalla.
The preeminent authority of birds, Audubon, says this of the Raven:
Their usual places of resort are the mountains, the abrupt banks of rivers, the rocky shores of lakes, and the cliffs of thinly-peopled or deserted islands. There, through the clear and rarefied atmosphere, the Raven spreads his glossy wings and tail, and, as he onward sails, rises higher and higher each bold sweep that he makes, as if conscious that the nearer he approaches the sun, the more splendent will become the tints of his plumage. Intent on convincing his mate of the fervour and constancy of his love, he now gently glides beneath her, floats in the buoyant air, or sails by her side. The flight of the Raven is powerful, even, and at certain periods greatly protracted. During calm and fair weather it often ascends to an immense height, sailing there for hours at a time; and although it cannot be called swift, it propels itself with sufficient power to enable it to contend with different species of Hawks, and even with Eagles when attacked by them. It manages to guide its course through the thickest fogs of the countries of the north, and is able to travel over immense tracts of land or water without rest.Hunting of Crow (Raven is not hunted in the United States)
In context of hunting of game birds and Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
Protections of Birds
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 decreed that all migratory birds and their parts were fully protected. Non-game birds, such as shore birds, song birds, hawks, ravens, owls, etc., are protected by state and federal law, and as such must not be hunted, killed or possessed. The MBTA granted the Secretary of the Interior the authority to establish hunting seasons for certain migratory game birds including geese, ducks, rails, cranes, plovers, sandpipers, pigeons, doves and others. The Corvidae Family of birds, which includes Jays, Magpies, and Crows, are listed as migratory birds. The Crow is the only migratory non-game bird that is allowed to be hunted. Take under state regulations is allowed under both hunting and depredation and nuisance provisions. Federal regulations stipulate the hunting season for crows cannot exceed a total of 124 days per year.
Hunting of crows occurs throughout the United States. There are no limits to the number a hunter can kill, (bag limit), and no statistics are kept on the numbers killed.
History of Crow Management
In the early days of wildlife management, crows were exterminated on a large scale with bombing of roosts by farmers and US Fish and Wildlife, due to their being considered pests that are a detriment to corn crops, wild birds and their eggs, and newborn animals.
The practice of bombing roosts was extensive even though many studies showed that crows were not causing widespread destruction and in many cases they were a benefit because they ate unwanted insects.
>b>Management of Crows by Farmers and US Fish and Wildlife pre-1940s.
From Life Histories of North American Jays, Crows, and Titmice, by Arthur Bent, 1947. United States Government Printing Office.
Arthur Bent -
If one is biased it is relatively easy to find abundant evidence either for or against the crow. It is no great wonder that this bird has been the subject of heated debate between the conflicting interests of those who wish to destroy and those who would protect this species with no thought of control.Regarding claims that the crow eats other birds and their eggs - “The examinations by the U. S. Biological Survey reveal that only about a third of 1 percent of the animal food of the adults and 1.5 per cent of the food of nestlings is derived from wild birds and their eggs, and only about one in every 28 crows and one in every 11 nestlings had eaten such food.”
Regarding crows eating corn, Bent has this to say: “According to Kalmbach (1920) vegetable matter forms nearly 72 percent of the adult crow's yearly food, and over half of it consists of corn. The damage by the crow is chiefly to sprouting corn or when the ripened grain has been stacked in shocks.”
Federal decisions to bomb roots Arthur Bent - In 1938 the United States Biological Survey made a special investigation of the crow damage to grain, sorghums, and Indian corn growing on 210 farms comprising 39,797 acres in Grady County, Okla. The results reveal that Oklahoma has a winter crow population of between three and four million. The damage to grain sorghums was appraised at 3.8 percent and to Indian corn 1.7 percent. On the basis of this investigation the Biological Survey concluded that in southwestern Oklahoma there may be need of measures of control. This situation is now being met by the systematic bombing of the roosts. The case of the crow in Oklahoma is qualified by the statement that in some of the wheat-raising sections of Oklahoma the wintering crows are a benefit.
Arthur Bent on bombing roots Roosts.--During the summer crows associate only in pairs at their isolated breeding places, but in fall they exhibit a marked gregarious inclination, and birds from many miles of territory congregate in immense roosts comprising thousands, sometimes tens and even hundreds of thousands, of individuals. These roosts are not only made up of the birds breeding in the region but the flocks are augmented by birds that have migrated from nesting grounds located farther to the north.
Crows have probably evolved the habit of congregating in roosts for mutual protection, but in the present day, since the verdict concerning their relations to man's interests in certain states has been pronounced against them, thousands of individuals are killed by man at the very roosts where they sought refuge against danger.
Present day crow management
According to recent publications on the subject, there really have been no in-depth studies on the damage to crops caused by crows and the best ways to deal with them. The article also says that populations are more scattered than they used to be and there are not as many complaints about damage to agriculture. (American Crows, Ron Johnson, Extension Wildlife Specialist, University of Nebraska. Prevention and control of wildlife damage, 1994).
Farmers and landowners are allowed to kill crows out of season if they are considered to be a nuisance with special permit.
From article by Ron Johnson -
Crows originally were not so weary of men. They learned to be weary of men after the extermination practices continued over many years.Economics of Damage and Control
The economics of crow damage often center around a widespread controversy over whether crow feeding habits are harmful or beneficial. Some say that crows earn their keep by taking harmful insects and cleaning up carrion. Others say the damage done far outweighs any beneficial aspects. Despite some studies of the crow diet, little quantitative information is available on the overall economic impacts of crows. In addition, it appears likely that the economics of crows in relation to agriculture or people have changed from what they were 30 or more years ago when many crow studies were done.
At one time several state legislatures appropriated funds for bounties on crows and for bombing crow roosts, and suggested all-out efforts to eradicate the crow. Now, most state wildlife and agriculture departments report only a few scattered complaints of crow damage each year. At times, however, individual farms or crops do suffer severe damage, and concerns about large crow roosts in urban areas near people appear to be increasing. Individuals experiencing damage problems should weigh the costs of control against the amount of damage, then work with the proper authorities to develop a control program.
Shooting and Hunting
Shooting is more effective as a dispersal technique than as a way to reduce crow numbers. Crows are wary and thus difficult to shoot during daylight hours. They may be attracted to a concealed shooter, however, by using crow decoys or calls, or by placing an owl effigy in a conspicuous location. Generally, the number of crows killed by shooting is very small in relation to the numbers involved in pest situations.
From Arthur Bent –
From Audubon -The adult crow is very wary and suspicious of man, an instinctive behavior for self-preservation that has been acquired through generations of experience. When a band of crows is feeding one or two are generally posted as sentinels and a 'caw c-a-a-w' of warning from these is sufficient to make all seek safety. Among mammals, the crow's greatest enemy is man. Since the economic status has been questioned thousands of crows have been killed by poisoning, shooting, and especially by bombing the populous roosts.
Audubon goes on to describe how a crow can actually determine whether a person is a threat or not, depending on whether the crow can tell if they are carrying a gun.The Crow is an extremely shy bird, having found familiarity with man no way to his advantage. He is also cunning--at least he is so called, because he takes care of himself and his brood. The state of anxiety, I may say of terror, in which he is constantly kept, would be enough to spoil the temper of any creature. Almost every person has an antipathy to him, and scarcely one of his race would be left in the land, did he not employ all his ingenuity, and take advantage of all his experience, in counteracting the evil machinations of his enemies.
I think I see him perched on the highest branch of a tree, watching every object around. He observes a man on horseback travelling towards him; he marks his movements in silence. No gun does the rider carry,--no, that is clear; but perhaps he has pistols in the holsters of his saddle!--of that the Crow is not quite sure, as he cannot either see them or "smell powder." He beats the points of his wings, jerks his tail once or twice, bows his head, and merrily sounds the joy which he feels at the moment. Another man he spies walking across the field towards his stand, but he has only a stick. Yonder comes a boy shouldering a musket loaded with large shot for the express purpose of killing Crows! The bird immediately sounds an alarm; he repeats his cries, increasing their vehemence the nearer his enemy advances. All the Crows within half a mile round are seen flying off, each repeating the well known notes of the trusty watchman, who, just as the young gunner is about to take aim, betakes himself to flight. But alas, he chances unwittingly to pass over a sportsman, whose dexterity is greater; the mischievous prowler aims his piece, fires;--down towards the earth, broken-winged, falls the luckless bird in an instant. "It is nothing but a Crow," quoth the sportsman, who proceeds in search of game, and leaves the poor creature to die in the most excruciating agonies.Hunters had trouble getting close to crows and so devised ways to overcome this problem with the use of decoys. Crows are extremely interested in the presence of other crows and will come to investigate based on calls. Crows are lured in by crow decoys, owl decoys which they see as a threat, and sounds of other crows, including the sounds of crows in distress.
Consider the following from website of the Crowbusters.com:
The Golden Era of crow hunting in the United States. Back in the 40’s, 50’s and even the 60’s, the sport of crow hunting was at its peak. Considered a villain, a pest, and even a traitor to the war effort, the crow was hunted with wanton abandon, spurred on by an encouraging government and a grateful farming community. The serious crow hunters of this age killed the black bandit by the millions. Then things quieted down. Bounties were cancelled, Federal protection appeared.But a funny thing has happened over the past decade or two. With Federal protection and ideal breeding conditions, crow populations have steadily increased throughout their range. That has coincided with a renewed interest in varmint hunting, as evidenced by the number of publications and organizations dedicated strictly to varminting. Because of this, I believe we are entering the second “Golden Era” of crow hunting.
Hunting with Decoys
On one end of the string, attach the crow decoy. On the other end attach a weight. Throw the weight over a high tree branch and take the crow decoy up into the tree. Allow the crow decoy to hang at least 5 feet from the branch. Place the owl decoy on a pole or stick and place it near the tree. You can place another crow decoy below the owl decoy to make it look like the owl is attacking the crow, which is cause for other crows to come in. Set up the electronic call and the speaker. Turn the volume all the way up on the call.
Diary of a Crow Hunting Trip with Bob Aronsohn –
His preferred morning technique was to let the individual flights get to their feeding areas and then set up to intercept them as they moved back and forth between water and feed. In this way, we could accumulate a high TBC (Total Body Count) by decoying in small manageable groups at a time.
Day 3
Bob opted to try something different and positioned us on a hill between two feeding areas. This proved to be a great choice, as we managed to take singles and doubles most of the afternoon, totaling over 200 birds.Day 4
The wind was letting up a little, but with the help of Doug’s “Buster 2” motion decoys, we hoped to give the crop heavy rascals a big surprise. About 3 hours before dark, they started coming. Shooting was nearly non-stop, with many, many birds coming in “on the deck”. Only darkness forced us to quit, with a Total Days Count: 185.Conclusion: Believe it or not, Bob considered our 3 day total of 606 birds a little on the low side.
In reading the above excerpts, it is clear that there is absolutely no point to this hunting expedition for crows, other than to kill as many as possible. Trying to get inside the mind of a person who wants to do this is impossible. However it is clear that they have no regard for the life of the bird, they have no cares about the level of difficulty in shooting the crows. As far as they are concerned, the easier the better, since the goal is simply to kill the highest number in the least amount of time. They use the excuse that they are varmints, but that is really just a lame excuse, as no up-to-date studies show that crows are a true detriment, or that shooting them actually solves the problems of depredation on crops.
Every single one of those birds owns its life. It has a right to that life. That should be absolutely be respected, and only a very serious necessity should warrant the taking of that life. Every one of those birds went through a long process of development as an embryo in an egg, carefully tended to by the parents until it was hatched, and then guided along until it was a fledgling and taught how to live with the group and find food on its own. That crow life has a sanctity to it, and it is a crime to kill them in this wanton, and soul-less manner.
Sources: Ornithological Biography, John James Audubon, 1832, http://www.audubon.org/bird/BoA/F18_G1b.html
Smithsonian Institution United States National, Museum Bulletin 191 (Part 2): 226-257. United States Government Printing Office , Arthur Cleveland Bent, 1947.