Crows’ Court

Have you ever heard of Crows’ Court? No? Well, when a crow commits a crow crime, such as stealing eggs from a neighbouring nest, that crow is placed on trial in the Crow’s Court. The set-up of the Crow’s Court is as follows: the offending crow perches in the centre of a semi-circle of crows, the crow jury. One crow is elected as chief judge (it is not clear whether a wig is worn). Then there are four or more sentry crows, who sit in the surrounding trees looking out for humans, and possibly other types of animal. Depending on the verdict, the murder of crows (a group of crows is known as a murder: (http://www.heinemannlibrary.com/product/1403407428) either fly away in unison, or the crows on the ends of the semi-circle fly in and poke the bird to death, using their lethal beaks. If a crow is killed, the crows fly away from the court in a specific formation so other crows know not to eat the dead crow.