There are many weird and wonderful collective nouns for birds, but few are as chillingly evocative as the macabre “murder of crows”. Even ravens, arguably more deserving candidates for such a deadly title, escape with the comparatively mild label of an “unkindness”.
To understand the origins of the various collective nouns for birds and animals, we must look back to the Middle Ages and the era of medieval hunting. For the aristocracy, hunting was not merely a sport or a way to find food; it was a significant measure of privilege and nobility. Every aspect of the hunt, from the animals being pursued and their body parts, to the stages of the chase and the behaviour of the hounds, had its own specific terminology.
The specialised vocabulary used in courtly hunting was known as “terms of venery,” with “venery”, an old word for hunting, derived from the Latin word vēnor, meaning “I hunt.” Mastery of this terminology was very important, as it helped distinguish the upper-class gentlemen from the yeomen, peasants, and villains.
At the same time, the English language was undergoing significant expansion, and the fashion of collectively naming hunting animals was embraced by the literate classes beyond the nobility. Over the following century, this practice grew into a widespread phenomenon, resulting in the creation of hundreds of new terms of venery, such as a knot of toads, a drove of donkeys, and a shrewdness of apes.
Creating these new descriptions involved much wit and imagination, with various semantic devices employed, such as onomatopoeias (a gaggle of geese), references to characteristics (a spring of teal), or visual traits (a parliament of owls). In some cases, incorrect transcriptions led to corrupted forms, such as a siege of herons (referring to their presence in the sedges and reeds of wetlands, much like bitterns) or a school of fish (derived from “shoal”).
The Egerton Manuscript and The Book of St. Albans: Containing Treatises on Hawking, Hunting and Cote Armour, both dating from the mid-1400s, record many of the collective terms still in use today, such as a charm of goldfinches, a pride of lions, and a murder of crows. Incidentally, while goldfinches are indeed charming birds, the term charm in this context actually comes from the Old French word for ‘song’.
The tradition of inventing collective nouns continues to this day, with modern examples such as a wunch of bankers and a book of Mormons.
But why a murder of crows? The most likely explanation lies in both the crow’s behaviour and its perceived characteristics. Crows are scavengers, feeding on carrion and hunting small animals such as lambs, eggs, and baby birds. Historically, crows and other corvids were often seen near battlefields, medieval hospitals, cemeteries, or gallows, waiting for an opportunity to feast on dead bodies. This association with death gave rise to superstitions and folklore surrounding crows and other corvids.
Once such tale says that crows form tribunals or parliaments to judge and punish the bad behaviour of a member of the flock. If the verdict goes against the defendant that bird is murdered by the rest of the flock. There is probably a grain of truth in this story in that crows will occasionally kill a weak or dying crow that has encroached on their territory. But there is no evidence that crows routinely perform capital punishment on its own species.
Crows are also known by a variety of other collective nouns, including a horde, a hover, a mob, a parcel, a parliament, and a storytelling.
The term parliament is also commonly used to describe a group of owls. Owls have long been associated with wisdom, a perception dating back to Ancient Greece, where the goddess of wisdom, Athena, was often depicted with an owl. There are several theories as to why owls are seen as wise, but it’s likely due to their wide-eyed, contemplative gaze and their remarkable ability to see at night.
Crows were likely assigned the collective noun parliament because of the folk tale mentioned earlier. However, given that we now know crows are highly intelligent birds, it’s possible that a medieval linguist also recognised this trait.
As for a storytelling of crows, the origin is less clear. Crows are known to gather in large flocks and produce loud “caws” so perhaps an observer, hearing the noise, concluded that they weren’t plotting a murder, but rather exchanging stories with one another.
If you know the origin of the term storytelling for crows, please share it in the comments below – we’re dying to uncover the explanation!
19 Responses
I live in Central Florida in a golf course community. We have many crows. I have befriended a particular crow and named him Russell. He comes daily to my carport and calls (caws) to me. I step outside and he waits for me to feed him. He, and his mates, love hotdogs!! He and his clan are regulars and Russell is my buddy!!
You should search the word “Venery” a bit more. It most decidedly does not mean hunting…it is an old English slang term for amorous relations…
The etymology of that ‘venery’ is different, and comes from the Latin venus (love).
A few years ago, on my lawn, I saw a crow being violently attacked by two others, it wasn’t fighting back, so I went out to stop it. Thats when I was amazed to see that there were another 20 + crows in the surrounding trees, they went crazy at my appearance and angrily flew away. The crow being attacked scurried away under some bushes and I never saw it again.
I’ve lived in my place for 40 years and never see more than one or two crows at a time. What could explain this “parliament”? Because it seems prearranged due to number of crows all in my garden at the same time and spread around to get the “best seats”, did they all turn up at the same time or had they been waiting in the trees for “the big fight”?
I saw the same thing in my garden few years ago and I did the same as you, the bird was held by other two birds and was being hit by them. I opened the door and he had the chance to fly away
My story is. The day before September 11th 2001 (911) there was a single crow on a lamp post. His caw was very loud. I thought to myself what in the world is he fussing about. My Godfather who was no relations to me, was 1/2 Blackfoot Indian. He said when they “Caw” that is a warning sign. That next day when I woke up there were 4 crows on a limb of a tree outside of my bedroom. window . When I arrived at work that is when I heard about the attack. 1st strike 2planes World Trade Center NY. Third plane Pentagon Washington DC where I live. Fourth plane Shanksville PA.. Coincidence? I think not. So now when ever I hear crows , to me they are a “Warning” of some kind. It has never failed yet.
Yes. Thank you for putting this in writing.
Sorry to all you crow fans, i myself was in that club until this morning.
As i sat outside with my morning coffee the raucous coming from a “murder” of crows was so loud. When i looked there were seriously 28 of them all swooping down onto a small birds nest (i’m unable to identify that bird in my neighbours garden).
It was a horrid site to see as they all swooped to pick at the nest, the poor parents flying around frantically. One of the parents was injured in a mid flight battle only tho become a victim itself.
I’ve never witnessed such brutality from my own garden, it really was a sight from a horror film and one ill never be able to forget.
Crows and owls are my favourite birds ( although we do have a Amazon parrot) we live facing a park ,
There are 4 crows regularly on there think 2 of them are youngsters, as soon as I open kitchen window they fly over as they no I’m going to feed them , which I have for last 3 years , they very intelligent as saw them this morning hiding some of food in the grass and the edge of the road next to the path , very clever .????????
I wish i was born a crow. Bird. Human skin too confining. Fly away and eat crab.
I live in a senior community. We noticed crows eating out of the bird feeder. Usually, it’s the squirrels and chipmunks using it. I mentioned that the murder was there, and had to explain what I was referring to. I actually didn’t know what murder meant when it came to crows, but this website explained quite nicely.
We had a crow. He had been hit by a car and he could not fly. I was supposed to “hand it in”, but I knew they would simply kill him and, being handicapped myself, I sympathised.
Being a bit dishevelled, he was called Chubaka.
He hopped very well and tended to follow me all around the house. He would even hop on me when I was having a bath and bathe himself, perched on my leg so the water was not too deep, and splashing all around.
He was incredibly clever. When I fry small pieces of meat, I tend to leave the wooden spoon over the edge of the pan. He watched me many times. Then, one day, he took the wooden spoon in his beak and made one piece fall out of the frying pan. He waited for it to cool off before eating it.
Yogurt for desert? Take one out for each of us and one for Chubaka. No need to open it for him, he knows how to make a hole through the top cover. Just remember to wash the table and all the surroundings after diner because he’s a messy eater.
Whenever I went gardening, he followed me and hoped around while I was working, looking for worms and such. When we heard other crows, he listened in a very focused way, but he never answered them.
He spent many years with us, and I think he was happy. When he passed away, we buried him in the garden and I still say “Hi Chubaka” when I walk by. I miss him so.
I once saw a crow on a snowy roof using a yogurt pot lid as a type of toboggan going from the apex to the gutter and flying off, picking up the lid and repeating the performance. Clever birds and a sense of fun.
Now I know why the place called parliament where all politicians assemble.
Crows are So fascinating…
Tangentially relevant, but walking down to our village shop a few years ago, noticed that among the rooks sitting on the 440v electricity supply cable across the field, one was hanging head downwards. Hard to tell if it was alive or dead (presumably the perching reflex of one that died suddenly could allow it to stay hooked on to the line?). However, after a few more seconds, it suddenly dropped off and flew happily away. Could not tell whether it was chuckling as it went, but it did seem like one individual having a bit of fun.
Maby it was praying!!!
I happen to like crows. They are so smart !