Talk About Crows Steve Apps Photo

 

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Back when I was a kid on the farm, maybe ten years old, I remember one Saturday Pa asking if I’d like to ride along with him to see a fellow farming on the other side of Plainfield.  “Sure,” I said.  Saturday usually meant lots of work to do, and riding along with Pa seemed a great way to leave behind the several chores I ordinarily would have to do on a Saturday.

“The fellow has something I want you to see,” Pa said.

“What?” I asked, always interested in stuff that Pa wanted me to see.

“It’ll be a surprise,” Pa said, smiling.

Now I was really curious, as I wondered what a farmer west of Plainfield would have that was different from what we had on our farm.  Soon we were driving through the village of Plainfield and into farm country. Not long later, we pulled into a driveway of a farmstead, similar to many in the area.  Nothing special here, I thought.

We got out of the car and the fellow Pa wanted to see came out of the house and began talking to Pa.  I stayed near the car.  I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but Pa motioned for me to come with them as they walked toward the corncrib.  Seemed like an ordinary corncrib.  We had one just like it at our farm.

The fellow pulled open the corn crib door and entered, with Pa and me following behind.  Then I saw it, a big black crow sitting on a little perch in the back of the corncrib.  The farmer said to crow, “Hello.”

The crow, with a rather high-pitched voice, said, “Hello.”  Wow!  A talking crow.  Then the farmer said, “Jimmy Crow,” And the crow said “Jimmy Crow.”  I had never seen anything like it—a crow speaking words I could understand.  This is what Pa wanted me to see and hear. I’ve never forgotten the experience.  Now so many years later, I did some research on talking crows.  One report I read said that a crow living in close company with humans can be taught to repeat as many as a 100 words and phrases.

A few weeks ago, on one of those summer-like autumn days, I was sitting outside the cabin at the farm, enjoying the day.  “What are you doing?” my son, Steve, asked.  There was work to be done and I was doing little of nothing.

“Listening to the crows talk to each other,” I said.  And they were.  Several of them were perched in the windbreak just west of the cabin, and several more were in the pine trees a hundred yards or so south of the cabin. Both groups were cawing loudly.  Crows are highly social birds and they do try to stay in constant communication with each other.  In addition to keeping in touch with each other, they have a variety of calls, including one indicating danger may be near. Crows are highly intelligent birds—it’s easy to ignore them and take them for granted.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  There is much about crows that we don’t know.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, December 10, 1:30 p.m.  Verona, Library.  Launch of my new book, MORE THAN WORDS.  I plan to be there in person.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS. As you all know, books make fine Christmas presents. See my website, www.jerryapps.com, for a listing of my books. Buy my books from your local bookstore, or buy online from the Wisconsin Historical Society bookstore, https://shop.wisconsinhistory.org/books, bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering, or contact the librarian: barnard@wildroselibrary.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby, visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books. Order a book from them by calling 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.  If you live in northcentral Wisconsin, stop at the Janke bookstore in Wausau (phone 715-845-9648).  They also have a large selection of my books.