From: Cage & Aviary Birds, February 7, 2004 (www.cageandaviarybirds.com)

Review of Crow by Boria Sax

One day an Indian prince took seven blind men and asked them to describe an elephant. The man who hugged its body said it was like a granary, while the second who hung on to its trunk described it as being like a plough. The third, the man touching its head, compared it to a basket. Author Boria Sax uses this Hindu story as a parable of the range of perspectives from which various cultures have viewed the crow.

Crows, being faithful to their partners, were regarded as symbols of monogamy in ancient Egypt. Less keen were the Greeks who were horrified to see them devour the corpses of slain Greek warriors on the battlefields.

The citizens of London reacted in similar fashion when flock upon flock of crows pecked at corpses after the Great Fire of London in 1666. These Londoners petitioned the king to exterminate crows and many were killed.

However, Charles II was well aware of the legend surrounding their presence at the Tower of London and he brought in a Raven Master to look after domesticated ravens there.

Sax tracks the crow family from the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, from Taoist legends to Victorian novels and Hitchcock films. The whiskers around their beaks and who resembles a smile make crows, in an unkempt by loveable way, human.

Cultural perspectives aside, one common trait observed is the race of the crow, one example being the single curve from the tip of the beak to the tail. Crows can take flight with minimal effort, flap their wings and climb into the air like spirits.

In this lavishly illustrated yet handy volume Sax provides an extensive survey of crows, magpies and their relatives in myth, literature, and life. He traces the Corvidea family from its origins 20-30 million years ago, when the family originated in the land mass that was Australia, to the present day.

The crow may have undergone many changes during this period, but one thing that has remained constant is the crow’s sheer cheek. Sax recounts the story of a farmer in Arizona, who set up a stereo in his field hoping to scare away the crows. He returned the next day to see a field full of crows jumping up and down in time to the music.

This authoritative and well-researched volume is an ideal source of reference for anyone who has been intrigued, annoyed or charmed by these wonderful birds.

--Matt Smith