On Tue, 28 Mar 2000 Sgd24 at aol.com wrote:

> Tweets,
> If I were to guess; this person's hate of magpies is the same as other
> peoples disdain for all corvids. Yes corvids can be (and are) nest predators,
> but they do serve important roles in nature. I have heard many negative
> comments about crows, many to the effects of "I wish we could kill them all".

Yes, I was once a crow-hater, but I, with some encouragement from my late
grandmother, learned to appreciate them for their intelligence and
playfulness, even if it's a bit malicious at times. :) The good thing is
that most of the people who want to kill corvids can't succeed, since the
birds are so much smarter than they are!

Anybody else here read _Bird Brains : The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens,
Magpies, and Jays_? I think it may be out of print, but it's a pretty
enjoyable look at corvids and how astonishingly smart they are. Anyone who
hates crows will at least respect the creatures after reading this.
There's also a good essay about them in _Natural Acts_ by David Quammen.

P.S. As always, I remain fully sig block compliant.

Mike Cummings
Seattle, WA
mailto: mook at drizzle.com