Bad omens or just misunderstood? Get to know the backstory of these five scary birds
Birds such as crows and ravens may have a bad rap thanks to superstitions and negative portrayals in popular culture, but they offer a lot more than fodder for scary stories. In fact, they're intelligent and vital players within our ecosystem.
"Whether we find something cool about them because it's spooky or something else, any way we can connect with birds is wonderful," said Chad Witko, a senior coordinator for avian biology at the National Audubon Society.
Birds are ecosystem indicators. If they're in decline, that's a reflection of the environment's overall quality. The decline of many common birds, including grackles, makes it all the more important to protect and cherish them, Witko said.
"Birds are amazing, if we stop and look at them," Witko said. "How fortunate are we that we get to share the planet with these things?"
Here's why they're special and where you're most likely to see them from November to April.
Each map shows county-level bird sightings by participants of Project FeederWatch, a citizen science program run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, from 2011 to 2023.
1. Common raven: This spooky 'songbird' won't sing you to (permanent) sleep
When they're not rapping and tapping at chamber doors, common ravens perform impressive aerial acrobatics. Watch them long enough in flight and you'll see them diving, dipping and doing barrel rolls, Witko said.
They're the largest songbirds in the world, yet they don't technically have a song. Instead, they use a wide range of vocalizations to communicate, such as gurgling croaks and guttural sounds.
Crows and ravens belong to the same corvid family and are often confused for each other, but there are ways to tell them apart. With their shaggy throat feathers and long, hefty beaks, ravens are noticeably larger than crows, which have shorter, slimmer bills.
Where can you spot common ravens?
If you don't see maps on this page, click here.
2. Turkey vulture: Highly acidic digestive system allows it to eat rotting roadkill. Yum.
The next time you see a turkey vulture, be sure to thank it for helping keep our environment cleaner and healthier. As scavengers, they feed on animal carcasses, which helps reduce the spread of wildlife diseases.
Turkey vultures have enlarged nostrils and a heightened sense of smell to detect freshly rotting meat. Other helpful adaptations include a featherless head to stay clean during feeding and a highly acidic digestive system to kill harmful bacteria.
If that's not gnarly enough, a turkey vulture will vomit its half-digested lunch as a defense mechanism to keep predators at bay, Witko said.
Where can you find turkey vultures?
3. American crow: These birds are smarter than most small children, but they won't eat them
You've likely heard the American crow's "caw, caw," but you might not know that these birds are smarter than most young children.
In a series of experiments for a 2009 study, researchers at the University of Washington wore various rubber masks to test if American crows could identify individual human faces. The study used variations of a caveman mask, no mask and a mask of then-Vice President Dick Cheney. Researchers found that crows can recognize individual faces for years. They also use tools to reach food and have been known to solve puzzles that would stump a human toddler. Perhaps this puts the term "birdbrain" in a new light.
As sociable creatures, crows often form large communal roosts on winter nights, sometimes gathering in the tens of thousands to sleep on tree branches or power lines. If left undisturbed, crows are known to return to the same roosting sites for decades, Witko said. A group of crows is called a "murder," but bird experts prefer "flock" over a term that unfairly paints the birds with a dark reputation.
Where American crows are most seen
4. Barn owl: These nocturnal hunters fly in near silence, except when they let out a bloodcurdling screech
If you expect to hear a cute-sounding hoot from the barn owl with its heart-shaped face, don't be alarmed when you instead hear a bloodcurdling screech.
As nocturnal hunters, barn owls have such precise hearing that they're able to find prey hidden by vegetation or snow in the wild and even inside a pitch-black lab, Witko said. Their specially adapted wings allow them to fly in near silence, much to the surprise of their unassuming prey. Popular with farmers, barn owls feast mostly on rodents, swallowing them whole. Instead of digesting the fur and bones, barn owls cough up pellets, which scientists can dissect to learn more about food webs.
Found in every continent except Antarctica, barn owls are one of the most ubiquitous birds in the world. But because of habitat loss, they are in decline and no longer common in parts of their range, Witko said.
Where you can find barn owls
5. Common grackle: May appear dark and scary from afar, but a closer look reveals their beauty
Don't let the common grackle's mean-looking yellow eyes distract you from its beauty. Grackles may appear black from afar, but a closer look reveals their glossy, iridescent feathers have hues of green, blue and purple.
"Blackbirds are declining across the United States," Witko said. "Grackles, in particular, are suffering. It's a bird that needs as much attention as we can give them and a bird that really needs to be admired."