Do people actually eat crow?
While I was in Ohio staying at my parents’ house I found it necessary to search through the local phone book. It is hard to believe that some people still have dial up and a connection so slow that leafing through a phone book is quicker than attempting a Google search.
In the phone book between Human Services and International Calling is the Hunting Guide. I grew up with a father and uncle who hunted, but was still shocked to see the approved list and times for killing animals.
I couldn’t keep myself from scanning the list for the dates acceptable to kill rabbits. Most of my adult life I have shared my home with house rabbits.
After the initial shock, I noticed a couple of things that seemed especially odd. The words muzzleloader and primitive in context with killing deer and the schedule for unlimited crow killing.
According to some hunting sites, it is possible to kill 10 to 100 crows in a single morning. Even though recipes for preparing crows are posted, crows are described as tasting bitter and gamey. They are also viewed as carrion feeders making them undesirable for consumption. And they don’t taste like chicken.
A couple of additional things come to mind when thinking about crows. The first is the documentation of crows using and making tools to access food.
Another thing is the idiom “eating crow” and humiliation. And then there is the association of crows transporting the souls of the dead to their next realm.
There are some crows hanging around our neighborhood. They roll walnuts around on the roof to break open the shells. If that doesn’t work for them they throw the walnuts off the roof breaking them open on the concrete steps.