One of the most enjoyable and rewarding facets of maintaining a page like this is reading the email which people send me about crows and ravens they have known, or raised.

It seems that the type of personality which is attracted by the challenge of caring for a corvid is also the sort which loves to share stories, and can even relate them in an interesting fashion. I've had email from all over - people have sent me scans, stories, articles clipped from magazines, recommendations of books to read, and occassionally even snail-mail, including photos or video. Many of the anecdotes are priceless, and the people who write are as fascinating as their corvine companions.

Here are a few excerpts from people who've had their lives touched by crows and their kin:

From Ken Sawyer:

One of the nicest outdoor experiences I ever had was high in the hills here, I live in Taos N.M. at a special place for me, where Staurolite natural rock crosses are found.....spiritual enough in itself....but one day while I was there a pair of Ravens were Kawing above me very high in the sky. When I looked up they were playing a wonderful aerial acrobatic game. One would call three times while the other flew along side as if to say "well watch this" and the one calling would tuck his wings roll over in 360 degree spirals and fall from the sky for 100 to 200 feet.Sometimes they would roll over four times. When finished with the dive a call was made and the diver flew back up to his partner and the other would commence to put on a show. It was incredible and lasted for about twenty minutes.

Also from Ken Sawyer:

Yesterday I saw a trio of marauding ravens attempt a robbery of a pick-up in a grocery store parking lot, this couple had left their groceries in the back and had gone for a bite to eat. One raven successfully lifted a bag of chips and (I swear) the other two were attempting to open up a cooler. I can only assume that this was the same bunch of party ravens that have been terrorizing pick-ups at the local ski area and they had decided to come to town to raise a little hell. They weren't quite fast enough this time, I left em a few slices of bread...I should have left them a beer, I think that's what they were really after.

From Jan Braconnier:

The latest member of the 'family' (Kaiser the Jackdaw) is very social and has no fear whatsoever for dogs or even cats, instead are all of them on their guard against attacks from Kaiser. He has a habit of pinching pups/cats in their tail, which is not appreciated. It's easy to see when he is going to be a menace. First he checks out if his escape route is clear, them he slowly advance towards his victim (at this point he gets very excited and starts to breath fast with an open beak). Suddenly he attacks and pinches with his beak (I assure you there is power in it, by own experience), followed by a hastily retreat to a bookshelf or something, There he puffs himself up in joy over the successful outcome. He really radiates happiness while peering around - "Hey, did you see it??!!!". Then there may be peace for a while (maybe).

From Scott H Redd:

I once saw a few crows (a murder?) flying around the parking lot of a Target store with some fast food places nearby. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something drop from the sky. When it hit the ground, I saw that it was a styrofoam container of some kind of food. I looked way up to see the crow that must have dropped it. That sort of thing is good for a laugh.

I also once read about a crow that snatched a bracelet from someone's arm while golfing. Later that same day at a grocery store 35 miles away, the bracelet was found in a parking lot. Pretty nifty creatures.

From Nerdetta, proud parent of 'Jim crow'.

It was great to find your web site. Hard to find anything on "crows as pets". I have one, Jim Crow is his name. About 8 or 9 months old now. Scooped him up after he fell out of the nest, before the ranch dogs and cats could have him for dinner. Gets along great with the dog (a heeler) and the two house cats. One cat has never been outside and views Jim as just another cat. The other cat has been outside and has eaten birds. He can't quite figure out why the bird isn't afraid of him and will peck him.

Jim doesn't seem to know that he is a bird or crow. The outside crows kaw to him when he is "singing", but he doesn't seem to answer back. He has regular times during each day when he vocalizes and sings. Very different noises than what you hear from the wild crows. He does kaw, also. Regularly jumps out of his cage and sits on the back of the chair in the kitchen. We place a piece of newspaper under the chair, and that takes care of the mess. Very mischievious, likes to throw water on you when he takes his daily shower, likes to pick up the dish of water and dump it on the table, throws all my pens off of my desk, etc.

From Lance Crowe:

Sometimes my local crows really put a racket, alerting me that something is going on. Usually, 4 or 5 of them are ganging up on a red hawk and trying to kick him out of their territory, so when I hear a group of them all screaming at once I run outside to see the battle. Well, this time was different. Three enormous crows had cornered a six foot long black snake next to the garage. They pecked, screamed, hopped over it, and generally drove it crazy while the snake (non-poisonous) tried its best to strike them. I approached to get a better view and the crows flew off, but one watched and waited from a tree, so I backed off. The lone crow returned and did its best to grab the tail (I suppose to carry it aloft and drop it as some raptors do) but never got a good grip. It was quite a show though...

From Mark Burton:

I found your account of raising Edgar wonderful, it brought back memories of my brief friendship with a crow - Jake. This young chap was about to become some sort of ground up feathery paste, part of some tribal ritual. fortunatly I was able to convince the Witch doctor (Nanga) that 50c was a much better thing to have (it was a lot of money in Zimbabwe 1974)
Anyway Jake grew up with many of the experiences you and Edgar had, became very good friends with our dog and found perscuting the cats, stealing shiney stuff and aerial poopy attacks (for humor --of course) some of the wonders of life. He lived with us for about 2 years then one evening just flew off. I often think of Jake when I see crows fly by. Probably one of the funniest and smartest souls I've met.

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