Bird Augery ?

[tarotbear]

This is really something I'd usually post in Chat ...

Black birds with black bills - crows? ravens?

From the amount of sound I expected a flock of them but there is only 3-4 of them flying back and forth across the car park, screeching and calling loudly non-stop. Sometime they fly to another overhead wire. They did this for about 5 minutes - loud enough to be heard over the a/c. They disappeared for a few minutes but now they are back - this time more individual cawing instead of group cawing en masse.



**** ETA ****

It is Friday the 13th!

 

[frac_ture]

Sounds more like crows to me, TB. Crows are smaller, have higher-pitched "voices," and are more likely to travel in groups (ravens are solitary or move about in mated pairs...if you catch such a pair schooling its young in the ways of flight, that would be the most likely time you'll ever see more than two hanging out together). Also, their tail shapes are the easiest identifiers to catch if you get glimpses of them in flight: crows have tails that end straight across, while ravens' tails form a distinctive V-shape (see attachment).

Sorry if that's more info than you wanted! I'm a raven person -- I get enthused about them...

 

[Mi-Shell]

3 Crows - they did gather
predicting the weather
southward points their flight
to spend cold winter's night....

 

[celticnoodle]

both crows and ravens do have the black beak, but the ravens beak is often larger. The raven also has a longer neck then the crow. Many people do not like crows and find them annoying. I love the crows however. Both crows and ravens.

Crows are very protective of their area - including the humans who will live in the same area. If there is a stranger about--the crows will announce it and continue to do so. Especially if they are up to no good. Its been documented that they do this. So, if you do have crows in your area, be happy! And, pay attention to their chatter--annoying as it may be.

Ravens have a sleeker, shiny-er black color, as if it is oiled honestly, where as the crow is not quite as slick looking. Both will turn colors when the sunlight hits them--but the raven is, I think, oilier looking.

Ravens are also larger birds--can be as large as hawks. They usually live out in the country. We have both ravens and crows around here. You can often see the ravens flying like the hawks do--they will soar in the sky, where as crows do not soar.

The way you describe them as flying back and forth in the area, they sound more like crows to me. But, see if you can tell if they are sleeky shiny, if they have a long neck, and compare their tail feathers--pointy or blocked as frac_ture showed in the attachment.

 

[tarotbear]

3 Crows - they did gather
predicting the weather
southward points their flight
to spend cold winter's night....

"Wire, briar, limber, lock,
Three birds in a flock:
One flew East, one flew West ~
And one flew over the Cuckoo's nest ..."

 

[Hemera]

This is really something I'd usually post in Chat ...:

This thread *is*getting closer and closer to chat.. Just saying..
But, to get us back on track..

I´m living in the countryside and to see or hear ravens or swans used to be a very special good sign for me some years ago. Both species have, however, become more and more common in this area probably due to conservation things. So now I´m either very lucky almost every other day or I will have to think about this bird augury thing again.

Another thing I frequently do when I´m walking in the forests is pick up feathers or make a note of them. I guess a lot of people do that. But I´ve had to think again there,too, since a lot of the feathers I´m finding are clearly left by birds that have ended their lives by some predator. Just yesterday I was admiring a soft grey dove feather on my path and thinking "oh, that´s a nice sign for me" but there were more and more of those feathers along the path until it was evident that the dove had ended her life there. Hmm.. It´s the course of nature and nothing wrong with that, of course. But I guess it wasn´t a sign of good luck for anyone else but the predator?

So as much as I´d love to practice bird augury I´m no longer sure how it would work. How much can you tell if the birds are a common species? And one would have to know birds very well to notice more rare species...

ETA: Yes, so what I wanted to say really was that black crows are so common almost everywhere that I´m not sure one can really tell anything about their occurrence?

 

[celticnoodle]

This thread *is*getting closer and closer to chat.. Just saying..
But, to get us back on track..
.

oops! you're right, of course, Hemera! So, in keeping with the rules, I'll tell you that my family always saw birds as messengers. Now, most think that crows are messengers of ill will--NOT TRUE! To see 3 crows is a news of an upcoming blessed event--generally the birth of a baby--and female. 4 crows means a boy or a significant event about a young man.

So, TB, is there something you want to share?
(joking!)

But, perhaps someone on your street or someone you know is about to become parents? Or a significant celebration coming up soon?

It would be interesting if it pans out to be true. keep us posted!