{"id":1434,"date":"2026-10-01T22:16:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T22:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bozemanwetlands.org\/WP\/?p=1434"},"modified":"2026-10-01T22:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T22:16:04","slug":"murder-at-the-wetland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bozemanwetlands.org\/WP\/murder-at-the-wetland\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder at the Wetland"},"content":{"rendered":"

One chilly October night in 2006, I was walking back to my dorm at Indiana University Bloomington when I heard strange caws and clicking sounds coming from a series of large trees along a sidewalk. Curious where the sounds were coming from (and a bit spooked) I was astounded to see hundreds of crows gathered and settling in for the night. As a spooky soul and lover of crows, I could have stayed there all night listening to sounds of rustling feathers, and subtle chatter. This was my first encounter with a \u201cmurder of crows\u201d.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

While this annual phenomenon might remind some of the unsettling scenes<\/a> from the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock classic, <\/span>The Birds<\/span><\/i>; for birders, it\u2019s a great opportunity to observe crows and their social behaviors. Every fall night around this time you can see masses of American Crows (<\/span>Corvus brachyrhychos<\/span><\/i>) in the trees, but why are they gathering, and why only at this time of the year?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hitchcock's<\/span>Though roosting occurs in smaller groups year-round, it begins in the fall when adults are free of their responsibilities of raising their young. Adult American Crows and their newly fledged young come together in the hundreds to roost in stands of trees at night. In the early afternoon, crows fly in from around the region to gather in raucous \u201cstaging\u201d or \u201cpre-roosting\u201d areas. Some scientists think crows may use this time to share important details about where to find food, resources, and to warn others about danger, while others believe gathering provides safety in numbers – protection from predation like owls – or warmth, thermoregulation, in the colder months of the year. Their complex language and roosting behaviors have been studied by researchers like Bozeman\u2019s Dr. John Marzluff, professor emeritus at the University of Washington<\/a> and world-renowned corvid expert Dr. Kaeli Swift<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This gregarious roosting behavior is not unique to American Crows, but many other groups of birds as well. Red-winged Blackbirds, European Starlings, Tree Swallows, and Chimney Swifts roost in large numbers, especially around the Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Flock

Photo: birdsoftheworld.org.<\/p><\/div>\n

Interested in experiencing this phenomenon for yourself this spooky season? To find your local American crow roost, go outside before sunset, keep your eyes to the sky, and watch the mass \u201cmurder\u201d settle in for the night. Be sure to document your finds on eBird<\/a> or iNaturalist<\/a> to help biologists understand these behaviors through citizen science data.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fun Facts about American Crows<\/strong><\/p>\n