The Bestiary

CROW

Corvus corone

The Crow is the Fox of the skies, clever and opportunistic. It uses tools, solves puzzles, and recognizes human faces - remembering those who have wronged it for years. Crows hold funerals for their dead, gathering in silence around the fallen. They cache food for winter, demonstrating foresight that many humans lack. A group of Crows is a murder, though Crows themselves murder nothing that does not need eating. Black as coal, the Crow was once white, but was scorched by Apollo for bearing bad news - teaching us that messengers are often blamed for their messages. The Crow's cousin, the Rook, builds vast rookeries; the Crow prefers smaller family groups, valuing privacy over society.