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Who’s Afraid of Corvids?
Not everyone thinks crows and ravens are spooky!
© Christian Tauber
Of all the birds out there, the corvid family — the crows, ravens, and jays — might have the spookiest reputation. But the idea that corvids are spooky is far from universal — it's mainly in the Western world, as corvid researcher Kaeli Swift explained in season 3 of Bring Birds Back.
BirdNote®
Who’s Afraid of Corvids?
Written by Mark Bramhill
This is BirdNote.
[Toccata and Fugue in Dm played on Organ]
Of all the birds out there, the corvid family — the crows, ravens, and jays — might have the spookiest reputation. We call a flock a "murder" of crows, the birds are scary smart… and then there's Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven:
[Spooky sounding voice]: Quoth the Raven “Nevermore”
[Thunder crack]
They just feel like a bad omen. But, as corvid researcher Kaeli Swift will tell you, this idea that corvids are spooky is far from universal — it's mainly in the Western world:
Kaeli Swift: For example, in many parts of Asia, crows and Ravens are used as avatars of fate. Rather than being, you know, these scary things, these were helpful beings that guided people to their destinies. Even if we look back in time through European cultures, we see that the connotation of these birds have changed a lot.
Kaeli Swift: For example, in ancient Greece, they were actually symbols of love and marriage. And seeing a crow was a good sign for a marriage. And so they definitely have this kind of spooky cultural context now, but I like to remind people that, you know, human beings and human cultures around the globe are not a monolith. And if you start to poke around, you'll see these birds might have some really different context depending on when and where you look.
Learn about more spooky — or not-so-spooky — birds in season 3 of Bring Birds Back. Find it in your favorite podcast app or at our website, BirdNote.org. I’m Mark Bramhill.
Happy Halloween!
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Musical selection: Toccata and Fugue in Dm, E. Power Biggs, Label: Sony Music Entertainment 1974.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote October 2022/2026
Narrator: Mark Bramhill
ID# PodBBB-17b-2026-10-28 PodBBB-17b
Mark Bramhill
Writer Narrator
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