The Evolution of Scarecrows

Is there any bird more attributed to harvest season than the crow? The large black birds are a familiar field presence in the autumn months, casting a frosty shadow over the seasonal crops, and they can often be heard cawing out to one another. Crows are members of the Corvidae family, which includes rooks, ravens, jays and magpies. While there are approximately 40 species of crows, only four live in the U.S. and they are the American crow, fish crow, northwestern crow and Tamaulipas crow. A flock of crows is called a murder and perhaps that's due to their scavenger tendencies and appetite for carrion, leading to an association with death. Others believe the name developed from a mispronunciation of the middle-English word "muster," meaning to gather or assemble. They also do not migrate, making their presence more noticeable in the fall. A territorial bird, one family alone might claim up to 20 acres to its own with multiple generations helping to build nests, gather food, and defend their territory. Along the way, these intelligent birds became associated with wisdom, secrets and trickery, leading to a belief that they were prophetic omens and could tell the future. Their fortune-telling traits fit nicely into harvest festival celebrations and the spooky traditions of Halloween over the centuries. While crows do eat seed and corn, they aIso will feed on agricultural pests like caterpillars and beetles, making them not entirely an enemy of the garden and fields. And yet, for farmers, the crow is often viewed as a threat to their many months of blood, sweat and tears. To deter the hungry creatures, many cultures through the centuries dating back to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians have fashioned variations of a scarecrow, sometimes also called a bogle, tattybogle or gallycrow. The Egyptians hung shirts on tall reeds, while the Greeks used wooden statues of Priapus, a fertility god. The Japanese had a similar version as well, called the Kuebiko, to keep rice fields protected from sparrows. Wearing an outfit of dirty rags and bells, their figure was lit on fire in the field to mark the season's end. Adding to the scarecrow's fear tactic and the crow's morbidness, it was children who would be assigned the chore of crow-scarers during the Middle Ages. They would make loud noises by clapping blocks or would throw rocks at the crows. Sadly, it was when the plague claimed the lives of many children in Europe that farmers began to stuff old clothes with straw and mount them in the fields on pole, sometimes with a gourd as a head. While many rural farming areas may still utilize adaptations of the scarecrow, the development of pesticides after World War II became a more science-based means of protecting crops. Over time, it was discovered that a motionless scarecrow was probably not a highly effective deterrent for intelligent crows. The scarecrow, though, has not disappeared entirely. A cute version is often displayed at homes during harvest season, and families still regularly enjoy the tradition of building decorative scarecrows from old clothing and fallen leaves to mark the autumn months. Several of our area towns celebrate the scarecrow in October, including Jaffrey and Troy, organizing annual "Scarecrows on the Common" events with contests for the most creative outfits. And, of course, who hasn't been charmed by the brainless Scarecrow character who we've come to know and love through the classic "The Wizard of Oz" film of 1939. While the murder of scarecrows scattered in the field or perched high atop a bare tree may no longer be seen as harbingers of death or fortunetellers, their presence is indeed an indicator of summer's end and a predictor of the cold months ahead.