account_of_a_crow_funeral birdmad (attributed to someone named Carl Cook) "The sound of many crows calling at once filled the air. I peeked out the window, and everywhere I could see, crows, maybe a couple hundred of them. They were on the sidewalk. They were on the power lines. They were on the logs that served as stops for parked cars, and they were in the trees. Almost hidden against one of the logs, I saw a dead crow. There were a few crows standing near the body. The noise continued for about a minute or so, when suddenly, an unseen conductor waved his baton, and the cawing stopped. The silence was equally as loud. There was a pause. Then, the invisible conductor again waved his baton, and there was a great and noisy flurry of feathers, as the crows took off and flew in all directions. Soon they were gone, leaving their lifeless kin to the elements. I continued my watch in silent awe, feeling that I had just witnessed something few have seen. In the various articles and books I have read about the corvids and their behavior, the authors cannot agree as to whether the Crow Funeral is fact or legend. Based on what I observed, and barring evidence to the contrary, I believe that I indeed observed the crow's version of what we would call, a funeral. So the next time you see a murder of crows eating from a garbage can or cawing loudly from the top of a lamppost, don't throw a stone at them or shout abuse at them, but as someone once said "... if you meet me have some courtesy, have some sympathy, have some taste..." 051122 ... misstree has heard similar but different tales... some involving almost duels... be nice to the black-winged beasts. don't shoot the messengers, no matter how they laugh at you. 051122 what's it to you? who go blather from