But the rich history of interaction, beginning as long ago as the caves of modern-day France, that helped shape Scandinavian, Asian, European, and American cultures, cannot be inferred from page 99. of our book shows one modern aspect of this co-evolution. Our cultures continue to intertwine, mutually shaping both species. More simply put, our culture has affected crow culture and vice versa. We argue that our agriculture, wars, wasteful habits, and urban life have molded much of crow life - their diet, voice, defense of nest, and such - AND that the ability of crows to live with us has inspired our religion, literature, art, language, and various edicts and policies. Their dietary habits, however, have also affected our basic value system and language, spawning phrases such as “to eat crow.” It is this back and forth influence of nature on people and people on nature that is the crux of our book. Yes, crows take advantage of our waste and in so doing they have changed their fundamental behavior to increase their diet and live in a wide range of environments.
But, while this is certainly part of our story, it is only a small part of the story about crows and people. Does this image convey the whole of our book? Many readers may think that garbage guzzling accurately conveys all that there is to know about crows - they are often reviled as pests, vermin, or worse yet, omens of evil. This is just one of Tony Angell’s amazing images in our book. To my delight there was not a single word on page 99, simply a beautiful image of crows feasting on trash spilling from an overflowing urban garbage dumpster. Marzluff applied the " Test" to their book In the Company of Crows and Ravens, and reported the following:Ĭertainly asking any author if their book could be adequately experienced from a single page will elicit my initial response: “of course not!” But taking the challenge I opened In the Company of Crows and Ravens to page 99. Tony Angell is a freelance artist and writer in Lopez Island, Washington. Marzluff is Denman Professor of Sustainable Resource Sciences and professor of wildlife science, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington.
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