A few words about crows
Crows, for those who don't know, are songbirds, which are considered the largest songbirds in the world. In Israel there are seven species, the most common of which is the gray crow. The body of the gray crow is light gray, the wings, tail and head are black. It is impossible not to hear it, and many see it in a group, when everyone calls out hoarsely, a sort of loud croak, which sounds like, "Tear, tear".
The crow builds its nest, usually in tall trees, or electricity poles, and is omnivorous. Fruits, chicks, birds, rodents, nuts. In Arabic, the name of the raven is: Arab Averk, Zae'. They are very smart, clever, and use the environment to their advantage.
Other species of crows that exist in Israel: seed crow, black crow, brown-necked crow, Indian crow, short-tailed crow.
Israel Aharoni, the first Israeli zoologist, noted that the origin of the name Raven is "because he is black as a crow" (Psalms: "His curls are black as a crow"). In the Talmud he was also called Korkur, because of his croaking.
The raven in myths
The raven is mentioned in various myths, perhaps because of its black color, and the loud voice it makes. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis, when Noah sends the raven out of the ark to see if the water is clear, and the raven does not move away, and then Noah sends the dove. The raven is the first bird whose name appears in the book of Genesis and the third among all the animals at the time of the creation of the world.
The raven is mentioned in the book of Genesis 8:7: "And he sent the raven, and it went out again and again until the water dried up from the earth." And about ten more times in the Bible. It also appears in many other fables, and in parables, such as Aesop's "The Fox and the Crow".
Are the crows vengeful?
The crow received the label - "Eruptive species", and this is a dubious title, which was applied to it by man.
There is a claim that crows are vindictive: if a person passes by a chick, for example, that has fallen from the nest, and the crow suspects that the person is going to harm the chick, it will try to hurt it, and not only that, it will even remember the person/dog that did it. People sometimes have a tendency to look on the dark side of the crow. Some say that they attack dogs, although a crow will not attack any creature without reason.
It is better not to approach crows' nests
It is said that most attacks occur in early summer, because the chicks hatch in the spring, and the crows need to protect the nest.
Still a good word
More than once, crows are seen chasing off daytime raptors, for example the common hawk, when it flies towards it, until it disappears somewhere in the sky. Does he guard the little songbirds?
And another interesting thing - various studies show that crows can count to seven.
The crow usually hides food
The crow usually hides food in the ground, or in roof gutters and trees (nuts and meat) and returns to them when needed. There is something good about it, because they spread the seeds of trees. Also, they usually eat animal carcasses. Crows are extremely intelligent. A crow can solve problems and plan ahead, for example, use branches to retrieve food. They know how to crack nuts with cars, make fishing rods, and they remember faces. In short, they are smart.
To conclude, I will say, in a slightly sarcastic tone, that a species found its species, as the saying goes: "It was not for nothing that a starling went to a crow, but because it was a species". A proverb that originates from the Talmud, which says that creatures that are biologically or behaviorally related tend to stick together.
The crows in Haifa
As a resident of Haifa, a bird lover, and an amateur photographer, I get to meet this big bird, the gray crow, more than once. You can say that the crow is an urban bird. In Haifa you see it in various places, mainly near people, for example on the beaches, in Shekmona, on the Lui Promenade, and in general near houses.
why?
They are looking for food. Unlike small songbirds that look for food in the fields, (insects, nectar), the crow eats everything, and knows how to find food, anywhere, for example near trash cans. You can see crows gathering near garbage cans. They pull the food out of the bins, even when the food is still in a garbage bag.
The flock of crows on the Lui Promenade in Haifa
Anyone who goes to the Lui Promenade in the center of the Carmel in Haifa will always see at least twenty crows, in the vicinity of the promenade, flying above, or walking alongside the people walking there, waiting for someone to throw food at them. They are smart, they know that there are people on the boardwalk, and that people have food.
They are there everywhere - standing on the branches of the huge pine and eucalyptus trees, watching the passers-by, eating pine cones, and then burying them in the ground. On the boardwalk I saw a family, with a baby carriage, with a crow standing next to the carriage, waiting for food to be thrown to it.
Of course, there are crows everywhere in the city of Haifa, but as flocks, you see them mainly in public places, such as the Lui promenade, Shekmona, and more. In Shakmona, for example, they stand on fences around the archaeological site, or fly over the site and chase away any bird of prey that comes into the area, also in search of food, for example the black-shouldered daa.
Not long ago, in the neighborhood where I live, in Haifa, I saw a large flock of crows, of at least 30 individuals, standing on a tiled roof, croaking for long minutes.
I set off to look for the source of the commotion, while other crows continue to arrive. There was a crow's nest on the roof. It seemed that he was injured or sick, because he was lying on his side. I honestly thought this chick was dead. They did not stop croaking, until suddenly the little one got up, as if he had suddenly recovered, and after flying off the roof all the crows disappeared. So the Arabs are Arabs to each other.
In preparing the article, I used sources of information from nature sites / Wikipedia / and various birding sites as well as from personal observation.
Very important article Sabrina de Rita.
Very interesting article. thanks for sharing
Don't crows crowd out other species of birds? And maybe other animals like reptiles?
The article does not address this.
There is a feeling that the public space in Haifa is filled with them, and wherever the crows have arrived the other birds disappear (the pigeons are the first to disappear).
The Ravens reinforce the claim that Haifa has long since become a nature reserve from an urban point of view as well.
Interesting Sabrina. Thank you and Shabbat Shalom
I love the crows, they are indeed smart, but they steal a lot of the food I put in the cat, I put food in the cats because the crows know very well how to get along with food, they are the most sociable flocks as a flock, one takes care of the other and by the way crows also mourn when another crow dies, a friend once said To me that she hates crows because they are bad and I was so angry with her that I had to tell her that I wish she had sense like a crow has and that people had a mutual guarantee like theirs have, every morning a crow visits my dog and they seem to be having a conversation, apparently my dog has more sense and luck That the crow cannot steal her because she is much bigger than him, in short, we need to cancel the strum on a crow as if it is evil and in general no animal is not evil, the animal fulfills the character that the Holy One, blessed be He, created it and I wish we would follow the laws of the Holy One, blessed be He as they do
My wisdom wavered
It is very nice to read the articles of Sabrina de Rita, the representative of the birds in the city of Haifa... (thanks to her I became aware of the treasures of Shekmona). The photos are also very beautiful. Still, the crow is an explosive and interesting species if its reproduction can be curbed.
Thank you very much Nurit
I was attacked by a crow while walking with the dog. Not a pleasant experience at all
Large flocks of crows are a nuisance especially on Kiryat Eliezer Promenade.
Try to take out a sandwich and sit on the boardwalk, dozens of crows will start crowing around you and the feeling is like a scene from a Hitchcock movie unfolding.
Then my lord will be honored to eat the sandwich at home.
Thank you and Radina, your solution to the lack of management of urban nature is that people will not walk around the city
Most of the sane residents of Haifa understood who we were dealing with and a delusional attitude that only brings harm... At least one good thing came out of the wild pigs!
The crow builds nests and in fact eats everything that comes across in its path, including carcasses of its own kind, in recent years they have multiplied greatly and are therefore defined as an explosive species, to think that the crow saved some bird from a hawk/hawk is a mistake, they fight among themselves for food in a common territory.
The species of the same family (starling) is a very aggressive invader, together with the gray crow they exert tremendous pressure on the population of reptiles and songbirds which are dwindling.
There may be some truth in your words, I'll just add that when crows eat carcasses, it's better than us having to deal with it, there is a mutual connection perhaps hidden, between birds and man. And regarding the expulsion of this or that bird from a territory, it is true that it has to do with food, the question is why, for example, do they not excite the minnows?
Thanks for your enlightenment
Interesting article and great photos
Haifa Haifa is not good for them, the pigs are not good for them or the crows
Your biggest problem is Maccabi Haifa, thank you for having crows and pigs
What a horrible city
The best and most beautiful thing and the sea in this city … ..
The exit to road 2...
Dear Iris
Thank you for your interesting and exciting response
Thanks for the interesting article and there is an addition:
My father has an Indian therapist and in the Hindu religion crows are loved and considered a sacred animal!
According to belief, the soul of a dead person is reincarnated 3 times into the body of a crow, so it is customary on the anniversary of the death to go up to the roof and leave food there for the crows. It is believed that the dead person turns into a crow and on the anniversary comes to visit his home...
I don't know if it's true, it's a matter of faith, but it's nice and pleasant for Hashanev to have such a simple way to communicate with the dead and give them something better than us
Dear Ms. Sabrina! Strengthen your true words. We, the Ofer family, live on Horev Street on the third floor and on the window sill of our apartments we have been feeding a number of crows for over a decade. I use a fork because the crow's beak is strong and dangerous and they literally eat out of our hands. They have high intelligence, extraordinary memory and recognition. We also feed generations of ravens from the raven family. All the data you provided in your article is very accurate and it's nice that you published it publicly. Nature is beautiful and we should take care of it and animals. Thanks to the good people.
Strong
Thank you very much for your response, the human beauty and to know that there are many nature lovers in Haifa
And all the best for your actions
Shabbat Shalom
I have an aunt in Haifa in Shaprintsak. She told me that she doesn't throw away food and for the leftovers, she feeds crows who regularly come to the window and ask for food, even though I told her it's like feeding a cat, they'll come back to her every day and she won't be able to get rid of them, and this article really reinforced my words. Thank you for the very interesting sharing.
I have been raising crows since 2012. There were large flocks of crows near my house. At first there was a small group that would come to my house to eat and drink, they would come to my yard with sharp whistles. And if I didn't come, they would walk around my house and finally stand in front of my window and whistle over and over again. They live in communities that take care of each other so that everyone eats equally. And who takes care of them the leader. But in recent years their number has decreased. I really enjoy taking care of them.
An encouraging article to love the crows even though they are not so popular in society. thanks.
Lives in Leon Bloom, there is a sea of crows, actually they clean the roads, and if you don't disturb them they don't attack. like the pigs In any case there are too many.
I saw crows chasing wild boars
If the city authority is not doing anything about it, at least they are trying!!!
Interesting Sabrina. Shalom and blessed Sabbath
Thank you Rafi and Shabbat Shalom
The explanation about the crows is fun and instructive.
Nice, nice and thank you for enlightening the explanations
About this wonderful bird, the crows.
Thank you very much for your words
Interesting, thank you.