Bewilderment, terror, confusion: all valid feelings associated with coming across a crow during nesting season, which can apparently last from April to July every year in Vancouver. Our city’s crows are known for their particularly aggressive behaviour when guarding their young, whose nests are unbeknownst to most people simply going about their day. Territorial, we can understand, but the incredible lengths these devilish birds go to in an attempt to scare off passers-by are downright cruel. At this point, nearly every Vancouverite has a traumatizing crow story — and we want to know why.
As it turns out, the crow’s seemingly innate hatred for humanity is backed by science.
“The devils amongst us”
“They’re truly the devils amongst us,” says biologist and local crow expert Dr. Alexandria Kent. “They’ll go after just about anything that moves to not only protect themselves, but also slowly establish their dominance as a species.”
According to Dr. Kent, this is because crows have adopted the predator mindset from their prehistoric ancestors, the dinosaurs — specifically, the Hatzegopteryx, which was once thought to be the largest flying animal in history.
And if that’s not enough, Dr. Kent says that crows have, in recent years, become increasingly on edge due to climate change.
“The negative outcomes of climate change affect us all, and they’ve seemed to trigger a rather disturbing pattern of behaviours in select bird species.”
While other birds in the corvid family, such as ravens and magpies, are also known for their immense brain power, none have perfected the art of intimidation quite like the crow.
“These birds are living in a constant state of ‘fight-or-flight,’ often leaning towards the former to punish humanity for its actions against the natural world. Their increasing aggression and assault on humans suggests that they think we are the inferior species, determined to wipe us out.”
According to the Canadian Crow Society, there are close to four billion crows globally (over half a billion in Canada), with breeding rates skyrocketing in urban centres like Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary.
Mimicking human behaviour
The northwestern crow (C. caurinus) is of particular concern across the B.C. coast, as it appears to have developed the ability to mimic the human voice.
“This has actually been happening for a while now,” explains Dr. Kent. “Just as a parrot will repeat words back to you, crows have developed different vocal ranges over hundreds of thousands of years.” However, the mockery doesn’t stop there.
“Soon, in the next 50 or so years, they may have the ability to form basic words, meaning they’ll have a whole new way to antagonize us.”
Crows aren’t the first animal to mimic human behaviour, but they would be the first to vocalize words in this capacity.
“Imagine a pair of crows diving after you, calling out your name. It’s downright terrifying!”
According to Dr. Kent, what we know about the crow’s brain is very limited, similar to the human brain. But we do know that the species has an innate disdain for humanity and will do anything to eradicate us, no matter how we may try to appease them.
What’s really inside their nests?
What does this mean for crow cities like Vancouver? Well, it may be time to fight back.
“Have you ever seen inside a crow’s nest? They’re usually too high in a tree to spot, but it’s not just their young they’re protecting. When each crow flies back to its nest, its beak breaks off, revealing a row of sharp, jagged teeth. There are different beak sizes the crow can wear to conceal them, but we only ever see the one.”
It sounds nearly comical, but Dr. Kent says it’s no laughing matter.
“Society — and even science — has no idea what they’re truly capable of.”
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