Is there a scientific reason for "magpies to report good news and crows to report funerals"?
Magpies are a relatively common bird. Magpies can be seen in China, except for parts of Inner Mongolia and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. "Happy eyebrows" is a common theme in Chinese traditional painting . The "happiness" refers to magpies, which also shows the Chinese people's love for magpies from the side. In Chinese culture, the magpie is considered to be an Annunciation bird, a sign of good things, and the crow, as its close relative, is a symbol of bad luck, as the saying goes, "The crow calls, bad things come." "The magpie announces the happy, the crow announces the funeral" reflects people's completely different views and attitudes towards these two animals. So is there any scientific basis for such a statement?
Both magpies and crows are passerines corvidae. They belong to songbirds with more developed song tubes. Their calls are not pleasant, but they are a very important means of communication for themselves and their kind. In the early morning of the breeding season, magpies or crows will sing at the top of the tallest branches or buildings in their domain, declaring "sovereignty" and paying courtesy to their mates. This is one of their most common behaviors, and their tweets obviously have nothing to do with the joys and mourning of human beings.
Crows are thought to report funerals, which may be related to their rot-eating habits. In the old days of Eurasia, crows often fed on dead animal carcasses, and even the carcasses of people on the battlefield, because they could smell the scent of carrion and called their companions to come and eat.
In fact, humans’ attitudes towards animals are often regional and are mostly determined by their own cultural characteristics. For example, in the indigenous culture of North America, raven has an active role and is regarded as the incarnation of heroes.
In the agricultural society,Human mortality is very high. Crows can smell the body of dying people, and they will fly to human dwellings and call and wait for food. Therefore, for the human beings at that time, the appearance and tweet of the crow might indeed be a funeral.
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