crows
There are two type of crows found in Kerala:-1)JUNGLE CROW-corvus macrorhynchos.
2)HOUSE CROW- corvus splendons.
There is no need in describing the crows to Indians or in that matter any south-east Asian countrymen,as in fact the first bird a man in these areas usually come across are crows (their species do live in other countries though not called ‘crows’…),dirty,smart,garbage dwelling crows.But interestingly the common knowledge about these amazing birds ends there.the fact that two or more species of birds (crows)exist among us is mostly unknown.there are even mistaken theories of crows as being of two different genders of the same species.so I am trying to explain it in a brief manner.
There is essentially two species of crows found in Kerala.the larger and darker JUNGLE CROW and the lighter and smaller HOUSE CROW.compared to the house crow,the jungle crow has darker much deeper dark colour(with a deep bluish accent) covering its body and feathers.whereas the house crow has a greyish colouring on the neck as well as legs.
One bird that could be mistaken for a crow,is the koel.but it has its differences with the koel in that the koel is built on a much leaner design than crows.crows lack the swiftness or agility of koel and if you can mention it koels lack the courage to co-exist with human beings as crows do.Although morphologically different jungle and house crows have the same social structure.they move about in small groups often mixing up during foraging.they are one of the most intelligent among animals(birds).
koel
crow
They are superb adapters to the modern world so much so that they have been seen to use man-machine power in their quest for survival.they have been observed recently to crack nuts by placing them in heavy traffic,so that the weight of the vehicles passing over it may crack it for them!!.Although it may seem to us as a nuisance the presence of crows in cities and other human settlements are essential for a balanced ecology.crows function as the garbage dumps of nature,consuming the ever increasing organic wastes dumped by man.they do the same role in cities as vultures in the African savannahs.
They may split up into many groups while foraging but come back to a single tree or so during the night.their menu cannot be listed as it includes anything a creature can eat(except maybe fresh leafs etc.).in a way its their secret to successful adaptation.the fact that they can eat almost anything and that they have less natural predators increases their survival rates everywhere.
During foraging and resting they intend to be in groups ,during mating season they keep to their partners and separate for nesting.crow nests could be observed in months except the monsoon periods,but one could say that December to June period is their nesting time.everyone knows the stories of the koel that lays its eggs in the crows nest for it to nurture and raise.but apart from a story,scientists are finding out how exactly did this kind of behavior come into existence in the evolutionary tree.in fact the koel have so much adapted for laying its eggs in crows nest that its eggs now almost actually resembles crow eggs in shape,size and even colour.their nests are made up by twigs and fibers from trees and cushioning up the center with hair ,cotton stripes etc. for laying the four or five eggs for incubation.they usually lay their eggs in big trees such as jackfruit tree,mango tree etc.
As we conclude crows are amazing animals who have been provided with intelligence enough to challenge any obstruction put before them and it is our duty to protect and study them to make both our lives better.
