American Crow in Ontario, Canada. Photo by J.P. Moczulski © 2009 A Murder of Crows, Inc.

Crows are members of the Corvidae family, which also includes ravens, magpies, and blue jays. Loud, rambunctious, and very intelligent, crows are most often associated with a long history of fear and loathing. They are considered pests by farmers trying to protect their crops and seedlings. Many people fear them simply because of their black feathers, which are often associating them with death. But research demonstrated in A Murder of Crows proves crows are actually very social and caring creatures, and also among the smartest animals on the planet.

Where do crows live?
Crows live all over the world, except for Antarctica.

What do they eat?
Crows are predators and scavengers, which means that they will eat practically anything. Their diet consists of various road-kill, insects, frogs, snakes, mice, corn, human fast food, even eggs and nestlings of other birds. An adult crow needs about 11 ounces of food daily.

How many species are there?
There are about 40 or so species in the Corvus genus. These range from pigeon-sized birds to ravens, which can be as much as 24-27 inches long.

Social Environment
Crows are very social and have a tight-knit family. They roost in huge numbers (in the thousands) to protect themselves from enemies like red-tailed hawks, horned-owls, and raccoons. Crows also use at least 250 different calls. The distress call brings other crows to their aid, as crows will defend unrelated crows. Crows mate for life.

Close Relatives
The Corvus genus includes the common American crow, ravens, rooks, and other variations, and the wider family (Corvidae) includes jays, magpies, nutcrackers, and other birds.

Crows and West Nile Virus
Crows are susceptible to West Nile virus, and their deaths are used as early indicators of potential human disease in an area. West Nile Virus has killed 45% of American crows since 1999, though they’re still listed as Least Concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

What’s a murder of crows?
A group of crows is called a “murder.” There are several different explanations for the origin of this term, mostly based on old folk tales and superstitions.

For instance, there is a folktale that crows will gather and decide the capital fate of another crow.

Many view the appearance of crows as an omen of death because ravens and crows are scavengers and are generally associated with dead bodies, battlefields, and cemeteries, and they’re thought to circle in large numbers above sites where animals or people are expected to soon die.

But the term “murder of crows” mostly reflects a time when groupings of many animals had colorful and poetic names. Other fun examples of “group” names include: an ostentation of peacocks, a parliament of owls, a knot frogs, and a skulk of foxes.

What makes the leopard so successful? They are not as fast as cheetahs, nor as strong as lions. But the leopard is adaptable, able to acclimate and modify its habits to thrive in its current environment. As the natural landscape shifts, so does the leopard, adjusting to the new world that surrounds it.

Physical characteristics of leopard populations like fur color and fur length vary depending on location. A leopard living in the savanna will have orange or yellow fur while a desert leopard’s fur is paler. Leopards that live in cooler climates tend to be longer-haired and more gray in color; rainforest leopards are more golden. A recessive gene can result in melanistic (black) leopards, as similar genes produce red hair in humans. These leopards are relatively few in number and are primarily found in tropical environments like the forests of Northeast China where there is more cover, and they can better blend with their surroundings. These differences enable leopards to live successfully in a range of environments.

While the leopard is resilient and adaptable, its population has recently suffered a decline, primarily attributed to human-leopard conflicts. The leopard’s valuable fur makes it vulnerable to poachers and hunters. Urban expansion has resulted in substantial habitat loss, a decrease in food sources, and aggression from communities that kill leopards to protect their livestock. The number of sightings of leopards near and around villages has continued to rise as their natural habitats and food sources shrink related to development. There have been sightings in developed areas of India, South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, China, Saudi Arabia, even the United Kingdom. In a study conducted by the WWF in Pakistan, between 2005 and 2007, the majority of leopard sightings – 97 out of 125 – were in and around the small group of villages that were being monitored. Generally leopards do not harm humans, but there have been cases of leopards attacking people. In 2004, fourteen people in Mumbai were reported to have been killed in attacks. Ongoing efforts are focused on educating affected communities to minimize leopard-human conflicts and to conserve natural habitats to deter leopards from moving into urban areas.

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) describes the leopard as “Near Threatened” on their Red List of Threatened Species. While leopards as a whole are not considered endangered, populations of certain leopard subspecies are less secure.

The differences between snow leopards and other large cats was previously thought to be substantial enough that snow leopards were placed in their own genus as well (Uncia). Unlike other big cats their throat structure prevents them from roaring for instance. Recent genetic studies revealed that they are actually most closely related to tigers, and they were moved back into the Panthera genus. Yet the snow leopard’s morphology, ecology, behavior, etc. make them quite distinct from leopards.

Information provided by Dr. Tom McCarthy, Executive Director of Snow Leopard Programs for Panthera

Additional links provided by Panthera:

Munyawana Leopard Project

Overview of the Leopard

Snow Leopard Program

Overview of the Snow Leopard