That is, the type of face that encourages attacks by crows. About a week ago I was stirred from my morning-walk-to-work-reverie by a crow dive bombing my head. It didn't rip out my hair or anything. Just buzzed me a bit.
Yesterday, on the walk home from the office, I was buzzed again by a crow. It was at the same intersection, but was it the same crow? We'll never know. I mean, how do you pick out a crow out from a lineup? "Yes officer, the one with the feathers - that's the crow that done it!"
Today, as I set off across the intersection, I kept my wits about me. Sure enough, as I hit the halfway point on the crosswalk, ZOOOOM!
The crow would make two more passes at me before I was out of its attack zone. It did continue to eye me warily as I progressed down my street back to the relative safety of my apartment. (I own a cat, so the term "relative safety" is not one I toy with here - she's not called Demon Kitteh for nothing.)
After the attacks had abated I texted one of my friends with my strange story. His response, "You know crows can remember human faces for up to a year?" What?!?!?!?! Well, it's true. Scientist Bernd Heinrich of the University of Vermont seems to think the behavior is a “byproduct of their acuity" - in particular, their ability to recognize and differentiate between individual members of their own species.
So what does all of this mean for me? It's time to buy a helmet.
Perhaps it's time to eat a little crow.
ReplyDelete(oh; almost sorry I said that. almost. :) )