Expert: Roger Lederer - 6/3/2008

Question
Hi Roger, we live in England and in the last 3 weeks we have witnessed crows killing other crows for no apparent reason we wondered if you would know the reason for this
many thanks Tony & Karen Bristol England

Answer
Crows are very social and live in large extended family groups. That does not mean, however, that they are friendly with all other crows. Just as humans are social and love our families and friends, we also have been known to fight and kill each other on occasion. Birds may fight for a number of reasons, such as defending territory boundaries, protecting their mate (or sexual access to them), or defending some other resource. Crow fights within a family are usually short and involve only a few pecks.  Fights between members of different families, however, can be protracted and deadly. I frequently see crows locked together tumbling out of trees in the spring. Although I have never witnessed an actual killing, I would not be at all surprised to see crows kill another crow from outside the family group that was trespassing.

Another explanation of extreme violence is that the attacked crow was already injured. Injured, sick, or oddly acting birds are often attacked by their own species. Crows are no exception. One possible explanation for this behavior is that having an injured individual around is dangerous to others in that it might attract predators.