Invasion of the House Crows

The house crows are coming! The house crows are coming!

The house crow, so-named for its predilection for invading homes in search of food, is on the cusp of a population explosion. The birds aren't native to Hong Kong, but their numbers have grown from about 12, counted seven years ago, to more than 130 today. Rapid breeders, they can live as long as 20 years.

The birds can adapt to different climates, and they're intelligent, with an IQ similar to that of a three-year-old child. They're hard to trap because they're smart enough to recognise snares. Worst of all, they're disease-spreaders.

They're also a nuisance; in Singapore house crows have been known to swoop and attack people: shades of Alfred Hitchcock.

Singapore had about 60 house crows in the 1970s. Today it has more than 100,000. Over 10,000 are shot every year.

House crows are a known danger to native birds. They can kill magpies and two native crow species: jungle crow and collared crows.

I've never heard of house crows, but there may be an upside to having them around.

Do they eat cockroaches?

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