Observing Crows

The crows flew wth the breeze, against the breeze. Their movement isn't limited to two dimensions, rather, they travel through all three with ease. Black feathers spread wide, they push themselves up against gravity, slipping through the air. They fly anywhere from ten feet, where it seems you could almost catch them, to a a more unreachable height of about a hundred feet. Crows rarely go much higher, or much lower. Do they look down as they fly? or, Only ahead, to the next available perch? Trees, buildings, fences; crows flight exists of short flights between them.

If you look closely at the feathers of a crow, you'll see they aren't as perfect as they first seem. Some feathers are missing altogether, others just have peices lost, perhaps torn in a fight with other crows. Crows often threaten each other, but rarely, if ever, actually seem to make contact. Usually they will group together to scare away others.

Crows move more smoothly throuh the air than smaller birds, but not quite so smooth as the birds of prey. I don't think people see crows as beautiful, grouping them together with dirty birds like pigeons and seagulls, but I enjoy them. Their feathers are black and shiny like the night, an association more often given to the raven. They may not be cute like swallows, beautiful in the way of parrots, or have the deadly grace of eagles and hawks, but they you can relate to them. Sort of beautiful in the way the are cmmon, everyday birds, and yet unique, a lot like people. A down-to-Earth beauty. I also find it funny to watch them. They are quircky and have personalities for sure, interacting with one another, other birds, ...and maybe even people.