It almost seems that a crow doesn't know how to do anything quietly. Instead, he wants everyone to know he's around. Parrots can make a lot of noise, but crows can outdo them. Crows' raucous calls are heard in just about every part of the world, except New Zealand where they do not live.
Actually, crows are included among those birds that can be helpful. Among other things, they have a never-ending appetite for insects and will also dispose of small, road-killed animals. They also eat young birds and eggs. Farmers do not like crows because they pull up sprouting corn and eat it. Farmers and gardeners try, without much success, to scare the crows away with scarecrows placed in their gardens. The farmers are much happier to see them eating grasshoppers, locusts, caterpillars and other pests. Scientists have estimated that a crow will eat nineteen bushels of insects in a single season.
Crows are large, fearless birds, about eighteen or nineteen inches long. They usually winter in the United States or farther south. Those in the eastern part of North America are larger than those in the western part.
They build bulky nests in just about any kind of tree, usually quite high. But some choose to build them down among the low bushes of a swamp or shore of a pond or lake. Nests usually consist of twigs and bark, with a lining of grass, moss, or other soft material. Four to six eggs are laid in the early summer and incubated for eighteen days. The baby crows are cared for by both parents and are taught how to collect food as soon as they can fly. The training will take a month or so before they can venture out on their own.
Many a person, trying to get an afternoon nap or lying in bed in the early morning before time to get up, knows what a nuisance a crow's coarse “caw-caw” can be, especially if there are several calling back and forth at the same time. But the calls can mean “look out” to their companions when danger is nearby. They often encounter dreaded enemies such as hawks, owls, eagles, raccoons and dogs.
If taken young, crows make good pets. They are very intelligent birds and can be taught a number of tricks, as well as how to imitate sounds and talk as clearly as parrots do.
The Bible does not mention crows but speaks of ravens, which are closely related. As the beginning Bible verse tells us, the Lord God, their Creator, knows every bird throughout the world and also cares for them. Do you know Him as your Saviour as well as your Creator?
ML-06/22/2008