Ravens and Crows. Digital paintings
Why we call a group of crows a “murder”. The inspiration for the term is a mystery, lost since the 15th century. As the Oxford English Dictionary suggests, “murder” may “perhaps [allude] to the crow’s traditional association with violent death, or to its harsh and raucous cry.”
Crows have been shown to have the ability to visually recognize individual humans and to transmit information about "bad" humans by squawking.
Ravens help wolves find prey and when the wolves kill them the ravens can eat too. Ravens use their calls to notify these animals when an injured prey is near.
Crows are thought of as carriers of information that give omens to people regarding their situations.
Ravens are held to be the ghosts of murdered men. Crows' wariness and cunning make harvesting crows in sufficient numbers difficult.
They will eat almost anything, including other birds, fruits, nuts, mollusks, earthworms, seeds, frogs, eggs, nestlings, mice, and carrion.
They are also capable of distinguishing between coyotes and wolves and have shown a preference for wolves.
Crows have demonstrated the ability to distinguish individual humans by recognizing facial features.
