Crows’ unusual behaviour rattles Vyasarpadi residents

While it was initially a handful of crows which flew about cawing, residents of Vyasarpadi say the scenario changed a few days ago when a large group of crows flew about cawing shrilly for more than an hour in the night. 

This despite the fact that there was no change in their usual habitat. Devi (55) a local resident said, “I have not seen or heard crows behaving like this in my life. They usually find a tree to roost in the night and start their day at the break of dawn.” It was usually the elderly who spotted this phenomenon as they were either early risers or did not sleep much. Office goers and children usually slept through the crow created racket. 

Madras Naturalists club honorary secretary G Vijayakumar when asked about this phenomenon also reiterated that he had never come across crows starting their business so early in the day. 

“Usually Asian Koels on sighting the luminescence in the sky during December – January would start singing, thinking it was a new day dawning; crows could be disturbed by the activities of fruit bats,” he added. 

But as no bat activity was noticed in the crows’ vicinity, another theory was that their disturbance could have been caused by activity at the Kodungaiyur garbage dump yard. But as the dump yard functions round the year and as this crow activity is recent, one is yet to understand what exactly set off the crows into thinking that night was day. Vijayakumar said, “The activity had to be monitored more to arrive at a clear conclusion.” 

That crows are low on the conservation radar became evident when this reporter contacted many organisations most of whom had no answers for crows behaviour at night.

While Animal Welfare and Protection Trust managing trustee Mr Narasimmammoorthy said he had not heard of such nocturnal behaviour by crows, Royal Pest control society spokesperson said the problem could be solved if a black cloth tied to a stick and hoisted above the building at night. “The crows would quit nocturnal cawing in a day or two,” he added. 

Bird watcher S Damodaran said crows would raise a ruckus when their nest was intruded upon by animals or snakes. But this did not explain this nightly behaviour as crows roosted in densely populated areas in Vyasarpadi where snakes are rare.