corvus_imparatus jennifer CROW, common name for about 27 of the large passerine birds of the genus Corvus, which also includes the ravens and jackdaws. Their family, Corvidae, also includes the jays, magpies, choughs, and nutcrackers. Crows are found on every continent except South America and Antarctica. They are among the most intelligent and adaptable of birds, and several species have been able to thrive near humans, although others, especially on islands, are endangered and their habits little known. Northern hemisphere crows are sometimes migratory, but often resident the year round. Although territorial in the breeding season, crows are gregarious at other times, and wintering flocks may number in the thousands. Even in the breeding season, crows gather together to mob owls and other predators. Crows in turn may be mobbed by other birds, because their omnivorous diet includes eggs and nestlings as well as other small animals, vegetable matter, carrion, and garbage. In some agricultural areas, crows are considered great pests, which accounts for the invention of the scarecrow. Crow nests are large platforms of sticks, usually in tall trees. The three to eight eggs are deeply colored, and are incubated by the female. The young are cared for by both parents. The voices of crows are loud and usually harsh, but are characteristic for each species. All of the North American crows are black, with more or less of a glossy sheen, but several species from elsewhere are conspicuously marked with white or gray. The tiny Mexican crow, C. imparatus, is regularly seen in southeasternmost Texas. 000530 ... WingedSerpent i'm the large mutant variety that occasionally results from all of the pollution spewed forth by the "maquiladoras" that line the border 000530 ... WingedSerpent a large group or gathering of crows is called a "murder" depending on their behaviour, ravens in large numbers can be called: A) "a constabulary": When they occupy certain places and seem to be standing watch (i.e., the ravens that inhabit the Tower of London) B) "a conspiracy": when they are gathered together and appear to be waiting or even plotting something OR C) "an unkindness": when they are gathered together in large numbers and act in such a way as to seem a nuisance or potential threat to other animals (i.e., one swoops down to annoy a dog while the others steal it's food) 000530 what's it to you? who go blather from