I knew the word for scarecrow, but I’d never thought about its etymology. I had no idea it came from a word for terror.
Rosemary Kneipp
November 1st, 2013 at 4:08 pm
There are a lot of scarecrows in France and I find them fascinating. This one, in particular, looked as though it might terrorise any crow. I’ve been told that crows are protected. Is that so?
Crows are not protected as far as I know, nor are rooks or jackdaws (both crow family). It’s mostly rooks you see in the fields and they are the ones who form big colonies in the poplar plantations. The hunters periodically have a go at them, not because they are pests but because they are noisy and annoy people. I don’t know why there is so much antipathy towards crows. It’s the pigeons you need to scare off the fields. They are the ones eating the seeds. The rooks and crows are eating pest insect larvae mostly.
Rosemary Kneipp
November 2nd, 2013 at 9:48 am
Thanks Susan. I don’t know where Jean Michel got the information about the crows from. Is a corbeau a rook or a crow?
JM is half right. Le Grand corbeau is protected. In English they are called Ravens. Le Corbeau freux is not protected — that’s Rooks. I checked out the situation for all the Corvid species. There are 9 in France, 4 of which are protected. Protected = Grand corbeau (Raven), Crave à bec rouge (Chough), Chocard à bec jaune (Alpine Chough), Cassenoix moucheté (Spotted Nutcracker). Not protected = Corbeau freux (Rook), Corneille noire (Carrion Crow), Chouca (Jackdaw), Geai des chênes (Jay), Pie bavarde (Magpie).
Rosemary Kneipp
November 2nd, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Thank you very much. I will be able to tell him that.
Conrad
November 5th, 2013 at 5:29 am
Avec les conditions épouvantable à Blois il faudrait sûrement construire une épouvantail. (-:
Rosemary Kneipp
November 5th, 2013 at 3:47 pm
ABSOLUMMENT! We arrived in Blois today and I immediately saw what you meant …
I knew the word for scarecrow, but I’d never thought about its etymology. I had no idea it came from a word for terror.
There are a lot of scarecrows in France and I find them fascinating. This one, in particular, looked as though it might terrorise any crow. I’ve been told that crows are protected. Is that so?
Crows are not protected as far as I know, nor are rooks or jackdaws (both crow family). It’s mostly rooks you see in the fields and they are the ones who form big colonies in the poplar plantations. The hunters periodically have a go at them, not because they are pests but because they are noisy and annoy people. I don’t know why there is so much antipathy towards crows. It’s the pigeons you need to scare off the fields. They are the ones eating the seeds. The rooks and crows are eating pest insect larvae mostly.
Thanks Susan. I don’t know where Jean Michel got the information about the crows from. Is a corbeau a rook or a crow?
JM is half right. Le Grand corbeau is protected. In English they are called Ravens. Le Corbeau freux is not protected — that’s Rooks. I checked out the situation for all the Corvid species. There are 9 in France, 4 of which are protected. Protected = Grand corbeau (Raven), Crave à bec rouge (Chough), Chocard à bec jaune (Alpine Chough), Cassenoix moucheté (Spotted Nutcracker). Not protected = Corbeau freux (Rook), Corneille noire (Carrion Crow), Chouca (Jackdaw), Geai des chênes (Jay), Pie bavarde (Magpie).
Thank you very much. I will be able to tell him that.
Avec les conditions épouvantable à Blois il faudrait sûrement construire une épouvantail. (-:
ABSOLUMMENT! We arrived in Blois today and I immediately saw what you meant …