Germany: Flock of crows goes Hitchcock

New.Com.AU ^ | May 29, 2003 | Ernest Gill

[yankeedame]

Flock of crows goes Hitchcock

By Ernest Gill in Hamburg
May 29, 2003

"Resistance is futile..."

IN A real-life version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, scores of crows have been attacking people in various parts of the German city of Hamburg.

There have been a dozen such attacks, the worst of which occurred at a large park over the weekend when about 20 crows "dive-bombed" park-goers, sending one woman screaming from the park with birds clinging to her hair, pecking at her face and ears.

Firefighters yesterday said more attacks were reported in another district of Hamburg, this time involving two women who said a flock of crows had attacked them for no reason.

"The attack was the same each time," a fire brigade spokesman said.

"The birds would swoop down unprovoked and would sink their talons into the women's scalps. They'd hold on and peck their faces and necks."

Animal-control officers were called in and captured most of the crows, which were taken away for observation.

Experts were baffled. Some ornithologists noted that this is the mating season and that crows are protective of their young broods.

"It could well be that these people got too close to some nests and that the crows were simply protecting their young," said Dr Ralf Wanker, an ornithologist at Hamburg University.

Another expert said crows were becoming urbanised to the extent that they have lost all fear of human beings.

The Daily Telegraph

[Graewoulf]

Mad Crow Disease?

[Lee Heggy]

"The attack was the same each time,"

Yes, I imagine it would be. Not very many crows put much thought into tactics.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

It begins!

[SquirrelKing]

[John O]

Even the world's wildlife is ticked at Germany. (I wonder what's happening in france?)

[garyhope]

I'm pretty sure that they're not French crows.

[Michael81Dus]

Is there a life for you after the Iraq conflict??

[Psycho_Bunny]

The conclusion I've come to about crows is that they're winged clowns with raptor-envy and all the other birds hate them.

[baseballfanjm]

They're jealous of ravens. Ravens are bigger, scarier, and have a famous poem written about them.

[laotzu]

Rather obvious that only attacks by birds of color are mentioned. Racism just works its way up & down the food chain.

Black birds attack. White doves bring peace.

I dream of a day when my parrot will be judged by the beauty in her song, rather than the color of her plumage.

No, really.....that's this damn dream I keep having.

[John O]

Is there a life for you after the Iraq conflict??

Of course there is. We'll get to beat up on the terrorists and their supporters in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea to start the list. Then we have the 2004 elections where we can beat up on our domestic terrorists (democrats). You've got to remember that the war on terrorism is actually a war on islam because all good islamics are commanded to be terrorists by their scriptures.

[weegee]

Too many war protestors had to eat crow. Now it's the crows turn...

[weegee]

I dream of a day when my parrot will be judged by the beauty in her song, rather than the color of her plumage.

"The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead."

[weegee]

Can't legislate that the islamists like everyone but we can legislate, prosecute, and go to war against those who can't co-exist with others. Some islamofacists here oppose our legal system, our government, and our way of life. They don't have to go to hell but they can't stay here in America.

Pretty much the same could be said of the anarchist-socialist movement (which headed the "antiwar" protest movement).

[weegee]

There is no description of what the people were doing at the time (just that the attacks were unprovoked).

Maybe it was some of these goofy "human statue" mimes:

[potlatch]

Interesting! My son recently toured 8 European countries, and his pictures at Stonehenge in England had crows sitting all around. I emailed him this story.

[potlatch]

ping.

[John O]

Some islamofacists here oppose our legal system, our government, and our way of life. They don't have to go to hell but they can't stay here in America.

Unfortunately if they choose to remain islamic then they will go to hell. There's only one way to heaven and terrorism isn't it.