Why do crows swarm when shot?

Question

There were a bunch of crows and I shot one, then the rest began to swarm around and look at the one that fell, so I shot another and then it seemed all h**l broke loose as they began to fly all around, almost as if they wanted to attack. It was the most bizarre thing I've seen.

Oh year before anyone gets upset, it is LEGAL to hunt crows from Aug - Mar in the United States

Answer 1

Because they are very smart and were shocked at what they had seen.    

Answer 2

Crows have a very highly developed flock instinct. This is to keep them together.  A lone crow has an irresistable urge to fly after black birds flying away from it. As previous members have said they will harrass a predator like a buzzard or eagle and dive bomb it repeatedly in an attempt to drive it away. The Austrian naturalist Karl Lorenz did a study on Jackdaws which are a member of the crow family. He wrote several books and they are very good reading. He said that when one of the flock had been injured by a human the birds remembered him and next time he came into view they mobbed him. As an experiment he exibited a dummy made to look like a jackdaw in his hands and the birds repeatedly attacked him even though he had been observing them for some years and had a close relationship with them. He put coloured rings on their legs and was able to recognise all the birds individually

Crows have a range of calls which some studies have suggested are particular "words" for particular types of danger. When the alarm is given every crow within hearing rushes to support the one in danger.

Answer 3

They are social and intelligent. They were going to attack the threat. Haven't you ever seen a larger bird like an eagle or hawk being chased by a murder of crows? They want to defend themselves.

My brother once shot a crow but felt bad and ran out to get it because he only shot it in the wing. The other crows attacked him as soon as he got near the injured one.  

Answer 4

You did the right thing, those crows are bad news.  They kill smaller live stock and have been known to attack small children and babies.  They also break into homes and steal things too, so they are probably fugitives.  This is the reason that we fought them back to the 38th parallel.  Those d**n crows were no good, so that is why we had to make Jim Crow laws, to take care of them.  Yes my friend you did a good service by killing them crows, keep it up.  The only good crow is a dead crow.

Hunting

In the United States it is legal to hunt crows[citation needed] in all states usually from around August to the end of March and anytime if they are causing a nuisance or health hazard. There is no bag limit when taken during the "crow hunting season." According to the US Code of Federal Regulations, crows may be taken without a permit in certain circumstances. USFWS 50 CFR 21.43 (Depredation order for blackbirds, cowbirds, grackles, crows and magpies) states that a Federal permit is not required to control these birds "when found committing or about to commit depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance," provided