She looked up, above, into the skies that stretched above her, forming a sea of mystery, and hope. Why is it that A. Samad Said emphasized so much on crows in his book, Daerah Zeni? Is it simply because of the abundance of crows in Tanah Melayu or is there another layer worth digging?
Crows. Jet black animals, caws and are just, I guess, not as pleasant to the eyes as other colorful birds, like say, a parrot. It’s not even cute size like a sparrow, or majestic like a flamingo. Then what is it?
Crows often get a bad rap. In many Western cultures, they've historically been associated with death, disease, and bad omens, reviled as crop-stealers by farmers, and condemned as nuisances by city dwellers. But the birds are fascinating creatures, adaptable and brainy to an extent that's almost scary.
Read the first paragraph on Google. Fira puts her chin on her palm and lets the information sink in. Above her, a shadow of black feathers flew past the clear glass of her window. ‘Beautiful’, she thought.
She scrolled down the website, WHEN A CROW DIES, ITS NEIGHBORS MAY THROW A FUNERAL, a line spoke to her. ‘Ahha’, she muttered to herself, suddenly remembering the story of how the two sons of Adam had a fight and Habil killed Qabil. Then unsure of what to do with his brother’s corpse, he saw a crow digging a grave for another dead crow, and did the same for his long gone brother. ‘Intelligent’ she whispers after relieving the thought. The fact that the Quran chose the crow to be the one demonstrating the act, to so called intelligent humans, whom was at lost after succumbing to his own rage and nafs, is a very interesting fact. Afterall, humans often deem crows as dirty, noisy and evil creatures. Often associating crows with witches, wizards, black magic, monsters, demons, in their literatures. Well, in one perspective, maybe not many creatures have the wits and capabilities to live with witches, wizards etc., hence the crows are accepted into the circle. Logically why would powerful creatures want weak and stupid companions by their side right? Crows must be smart and strong, to endure living among the demons without shedding a feather, cawing all the way.
Of all the living birds, crows, ravens, and parrots have the biggest brain-to-body size ratios. And in lab experiments, these avians show a degree of cognition that puts them on par with the great apes. In fact, research has shown that they have a much higher density of neurons in their forebrains than primates do. The amount of neurons in this region is thought to correlate with a given animal's intelligence. Theoretically, having more neurons translates to better cognitive reasoning. Thus, it looks like crows, ravens, and parrots have enviable minds indeed.
That explains everything, Fira thought, reaching out for a Munchy’s Nutty Chocolate Oat Krunch in front of her, eyes glues on her laptop’s bright screen, eyes as bright as the screen, rivalling the technology in its intensity.
CROWS HAVE REGIONAL DIALECTS—WHICH THEY CAN DELIBERATELY CHANGE
CERTAIN CROWS KNOW HOW TO READ TRAFFIC LIGHTS
‘Ooooh, see, they’re amazing!’, exclaimed Fira, nearly choking on her second packet of Oat Krunch. She wiped the crumbs on her keyboard (this is why you must not eat in front of your laptop), and continued reading, this time loudly. You don't want a crow for an enemy.‘Crap’ she muttered, and remembered how the crows in Daerah Zeni were often hunted and shoot down by humans who considered them as pests. Apparently, crows can recognize and remember our face, and hold a grudge at the same time. ‘Well, good for them. Hopefully they’ll hunt down the humans who made their life hell’.
YOU CAN CALL A GROUP OF CROWS A MURDER, BUT SOME SCIENTISTS WOULD RATHER YOU DIDN'T.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the correct term for a group of crows is a murder, an expression bird-watchers and poets have been using since at least the 15th century, which the OED speculates may allude "to the crow's traditional association with violent death, or … to its harsh and raucous cry." But maybe it's time to come up with a replacement. McGowan hates the phrase "murder of crows." To him, it only feeds the public's negative outlook on the animals. "These birds aren't a gang of nasty villains," he wrote in the book Birdology. "These birds are just birds." McGowan would also have you know that American crows rank among "the most family-oriented birds in the world."
‘You’re right McGowan. Nothing truer than this. Crows are just birds, creatures of God, like us. Why must we paint and depict them in a narrow and harsh light? Isn’t it enough that we murder our own kinds by our lies and fabrications disguised in the form of ‘spill the tea’, ‘truth’. Humans really enjoy sharing stories to each other, nothing wrong with that, but they often forget, every human have their own filter on how they view the world, and often, not one filter is similar. Then what do they do when their worldview differ? They force it upon the other under the guise of ‘retweets’, ‘likes’, clout, publicity, popularity and power. Easy to act that way, since the mass population often too, forget, that they have a mind of their own and is not obliged to follow the masses. We are all a mind of our own, so today, at least, I have allowed myself to ponder about an existence by my own will. Crows are awesome!’.
Fira looked up upon hearing a cawing sound and a ruffle of feathers, a glimpse of black glistening feathers, light reflected upon its feathers projecting a velvet touch, spreading its wings across the clear blue sky, gaily and mightily, soars untainted, unruffled, unshackled, from any human filters. ‘Herein, the crow exist’.
Reference: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/504722/12-fascinating-facts-about-crows
