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Crows vs. Owls: Enemies Ordained by Nature

Generally speaking, owls are nocturnal, crows diurnal - so that in the normal course of events they do not encounter each other. Occasionally, however, for reasons that are usually bad and certainly indicate trouble, their paths will cross.

Crows will harass, peck, annoy and mob an owl, sometimes to the death, if they discover one in the daylight. A roosting owl discovered during the day will be brutalized and occasionally killed by a mob of angry crows. I have seen a Barn Owl flushed from its roost by eager birders from a grove of cedars along the shoreline. It was quickly mobbed by crows and unable to return to shelter. The bird was attacked mercilessly by an ever increasing mob until they managed to drive it over the ocean and into the water.

Like hyenas and lions, owls and crows are destined to not get along. Lest you think the owl never wins, that is far from the case. A number of years ago I got to inspect a crow roost on the mainland that had been predated by a Great Horned Owl. The reason the identity of the predator was known was because there were 9 dead crows on the ground in perfect condition except that the top of their heads were gone and the brains eaten. This is the signature of the Great Horned Owl: completely in charge in the night. The roosting crows were easy targets for this most powerful of North American owls.

Please don’t disturb a roosting owl in the daytime - their lives depend on it.