This bird came as a request from a current Seattle resident and University of Washington faculty member. The geographic location of Puget Sound, the unique cultural heritage of the city, and the way scientists view birds in the area is unlike any other place in the world. And there, resting just shy of the Pacific Ocean, Northwestern crows no longer exist.
Welcome to the crow spectacular.
Northwestern crows are almost physically indistinguishable from the American crow, a more familiar type of bird to most. Their bodies are sleek black, about 15 inches long, with beady black eyes. Their beaks have a slight curve, and their overall mass is slightly smaller than a raven. Crows belong to a family called corvids. Other members of this family are jays, ravens, and magpies. These animals are known to be smart, exhibiting clear problem solving capabilities. Stories of crows interacting with humans range from dive-bomb attacks to gift giving ceremonies. One Seattle man was stunned to find a crow he had been feeding brought him a soda tab on a string, remarking that he believed it was a piece of crow-made art. Their studio time is up for debate, but one things is clear: crows constantly exhibit intentional intellectual behavior.
Maybe that's why they flock to the University of Washington campus.
Like the raven, crows are viewed to be graveyard dwelling, autumnal birds that perch on wrought iron fences. While these descriptions do not accurately describe the day to day life of a modern crow, the aesthetic remains popular. The heart of the University of Washington Seattle campus is comprised of two main thoroughfares of old buildings, built in the collegiate gothic style, with a massive, cathedral-esque library at the center. Crows can be seen mingling in the square, snatching snacks off the ground or at the expense of a distracted student. Where the true crow action happens, however, is at the UW Bothell Campus, just north of Lake Washington. Every night, thousands of crows descend upon the grounds to roost in peace, away from dangers that may be present in the city.
Crows are celebrated inside the buildings on campus, too. An art display at the Allen library called "Ravens and Crows" contains birds suspended from the ceiling holding letters and objects in their mouths. The piece was created in 1994 by Carl Chew, Mare Blocker, Ron Hilbert Coy, and J.T. Stewart. To see a photo of the art and learn more about the Native artists behind this piece, click here.
About 5 years ago, the way Seattle viewed crows changed completely. Until 2020, the Northwestern crow was declared a species entirely different from the American crow due to their minor physical distinctions, vocalizations, and geographic location. It was assumed that most crows living in the Seattle area were Northwestern - this, after all, was one of the few places that they were known to reside. Or so scientists thought. Dr. Kaeli Swift was haunted by this uncertainty.
"While some birders were convinced that they could tell one from the other, most crow biologists like myself couldn’t discern the differences—even in the Puget Sound, where the species’ ranges met and I live. Just what, I wondered, were those crows I saw everywhere?"
The Northwestern crow continued to be a mystery. Some scientists utterly certain of identification, others, not so much.
"My uncertainty about the identities of Seattle’s crows was a continued source of unease." Dr Swift writes in an article for the Audubon Society. "After all, it’s deeply uncomfortable to consider oneself a subject-matter expert and yet lack clarity on the matter of just which subject you’re an expert on. Throughout my graduate program researching crows in Seattle, I resorted to feigning confidence. I called all my subjects American Crows. And I told the puzzled birders who pulled me aside the same: “They’re American Crows—at least as far as we know.” I wasn’t incorrect; we really didn’t have evidence to the contrary. But it felt more like handwaving than expertise. Still, I couldn’t exactly put an addendum on my publications: “This study examined American Crows. Probably. Maybe some were Northwestern Crows, or weird hybrids, who knows, lol.”
Scientists from the area wanted to find an answer (as scientists usually do), and began analyzing genetic testing on crows from across North America. What came back was this: crows had once split into two categories, due to geographic isolation from glaciers. This split led to minor evolutionary differences in each group, due to their environmental conditions. Eventually, once the glaciers melted, the barriers that created the original need for multiple crow species vanished. And so did crow's mating preferences. The American crow and the Northwestern crow began inter-species mating. According to Dr. Swift...
"along their shared 550-mile range from coastal Washington to British Columbia, the scientists found not one “pure” individual."
In 2020, the American Ornithological Society officially made the Northwestern crow obsolete. There are no Northwestern crows. But not because of a horrific extinction.
Their world simply changed, and as a result, so did they. Crows found a way to flourish, and hopefully, continue making soda-tab art.
This bird was a request. Want to know more about a certain species? You can add your own by submitting a response on the suggest a bird page, and I'll do the research!
Have a great week!
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Sources:
Art by Anne Longman