The world belongs to crows too

The recent move by the Colombo Municipal Council to destroy crow nests in the city and its subsequent withdrawal raises some interesting issues for nature lovers in general and animal lovers in particular. If the authorities went ahead with destroying crow nests, the next step would be killing crows.

Crows belong to the genus “Crovus” which also includes ravens and jackdaws. Crows are usually found in every continent except South America and Antarctica. Surprisingly, crows are among the most intelligent and adaptable of birds. Even in the breeding season, crows gather together to mob owls and other predators. Their omniverous diet includes eggs of other birds, nestlings, small animals, vegetable matter, carrion and garbage. In some agricultural areas, crows are considered great pests, which account for the invention of the scarecrow.

Crow nests are large platforms of sticks, usually found in tall trees. The young are cared for by both parents. The voices of crows are loud and usually harsh. The crows are adapted to urban areas where they can find food easily. In certain remote villages, crows are rarely seen. For instance, in Kolonna off Embilipitiya, people find it difficult to give “Kaputu dane” (alms for crows) as they are not readily available. The “Kaputu dane” is given to ward off the evil effects of “Senasuru” or Saturn.

Nuisance

Crows are a nuisance to travellers. They drop their ugly excreta everywhere making the city walls, buildings and roads something ugly to look at. Once a newly married couple who stepped out from a hotel to get into a car waiting car to take them on their honeymoon were smeared with crow droppings. They were forced to change their clothes and have a bath before proceeding on the honeymoon. On another occasion, a well-dressed young man was on his way to attend an interview in a posh building in the city. However, a crow mercilessly dirtied his clothes. There are many such instances in which crows had their day!

Even with such evidence against the ubiquitous crow, do we have a moral right to put an end to its existence in the city? Hotels and other city dwellers are directly responsible for making the metropolis suitable for crows to live and multiply.

If people take care not to litter garbage on roads and public places, crows will not be able to find food. On the other hand, crows alone cannot be blamed for dirtying the city. When crows retire to their nests, bats come out and have a field day dropping their excreta wherever they please.

No doubt, some countries such as the Maldives have got rid of crows and other creatures in the name of tourism. However, Sri Lanka being predominantly a Buddhist country places a premium on life whether it belongs to a man or bird. Life is an elemental essence given by God or nature and we have no right to take it away according to our whims and fancies.

Psychic powers

The crow has been so close to our culture that some people still believe that crows have psychic powers. From the way they caw, people believe that they can predict the arrival of an important relative or friend. In astrology, the crow is regarded as the vehicle of “Senasuru” or Saturn. In fact, there is a devale in Kataragama dedicated to Saturn and a large sculpture of a crow adorns it.

Crows have found a place in the world literature as well. For instance, “The Twa Corbies” written by an unknown author in Scottish dialect in the 17th century is a fine poem.

The first stanza of the poem shows the very nature of crows:

“As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a mane;
The tane unto the t’other say,
Where shall we gang and dine to-day,
Where shall we gang and dine to-day?”

‘In behint you auld fail dyke,

I wot there lies a new slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there,
But his hawk, his honnd, and lady fair,
His hawk, his honnd, and lady fair.

‘His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame;
His lady ‘a ta’en another mate,
So we may mak our dinner sweet,
We may mak our dinner sweet.

‘Ye’ll sit on his white hause-bane,

And I’ll pike out his bonny blue een;
Wi ae lock o his gowden hair
We’ll theek our nest when it grows bare,
We’ll theek our nest when it grows bare.

‘Mony a one for him makes mane,
But nane sall ken where he is gane;
Oer his white banes, when they are bare,
The wind sail blaw for evennair,
The wind sail blaw for evennair.’

Corbies are ravens or crows. The story is grim, telling of the two birds in a conversation about picking over the body of a fallen knight. The rest of the poem creates a sinister atmosphere with a macabre ending. It is a futile and inhuman attempt to get rid of crows, dogs and other innocent animals in the name of tourism. Humans are not the sole owners of planet earth. The world belongs to other animals as well.