VANDERBIJLPARK – Six pied crows appeared in CW6 recently and could be heard and seen daily in the neighborhood. Their call is distinctly loud and shrill.

Crows are native to South Africa and can be found everywhere (except in the Karoo and Northern Free State), yet they are not commonly seen in local neighbourhoods.

The pied crow can be identified by a white breast and a broad white collar on the back of the neck.  Its glossy black head and neck are interrupted by a large area of white feathering from the shoulders down to the lower breast.

Although crows mostly prefer forests and wooded areas, they are also often found at garbage dumps, on fields, and in towns where food is plentiful, because crows eat mostly anything.

It also makes sense why the crows can now be seen in residential areas because open fields between houses are used as garbage dumps.

However, the crows can also help to keep rat and mouse populations under control, which are attracted by the garbage.

Research has shown that crows are smarter than several other birds that have already been studied.

For example, they can learn to count to four and relate certain signals and food availability.

These birds can even be taught to imitate a person’s voice.

Although some of the CW6 residents speculated that it was funny to see six crows together like that, it is no funny phenomenon.

Pied crows stay with the same mate for life, while the young birds that are not yet sexually mature form groups.

The crows stayed in the neighborhood for about three days.

They have since moved on to a new neighborhood or town.

* Crows play an important role in legends or mythology as omens or bringers of bad luck. This is due to their black plumage, their scratching noises, and their scavenging habit, due to which they used to be frequently seen on battlefields.