The family of crows, scientifically named “corvidae” is a relative young one the history of songbirds. 123 species belong to this family which also counts species like magpies and jays, its closest relatives are popinjays. Contrary to them, crows are to be found everywhere on the planet. The myths which follow them are always as dark as theirs feathers and are always dealing with evil and death. Even the increasing number of studies on their outstanding intelligence didn’t succeed in freeing them from their bad reputation. To the contrary. Alone the fact that crows have a greater capacity to memorizing than humans is interpreted as a sign for their eeriness. Cord Riechelmann tells this incredible story, mixing history and nature, and introduces twenty crows which he himself observed on the five continents.
Non-fiction
Sample translation
English sample available
French sample available
Cord Riechelmann, born in 1960, studied biology and philosophy at the Free University in Berlin. He worked as a journalist and reporter specializing in cities and their nature for the Berliner Seiten and Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung. He lives as journalist and writer in Berlin.
"Cord Riechelmann tells us so cleverly and elegantly about the crow in this finely illustrated book that you may not learn to love the cawing city dweller, but you will learn to respect him." – Susanne Kippenberger, Der Tagesspiegel
