I saw the buzzard-crow again yesterday. Taffy and I were getting ready to leave the park and there he was about two feet away. We stood and stared at each other awhile, then Taffy tugged me along. I began noticing this crow several weeks ago. He stood out from the others because he was essentially bald! The lack of feathers on his head made his neck look disproportionately long and his shoulders hunched, so that in profile he looked much like a buzzard. I've seen him several times since in the same general area. I've even gotten to where I can identify him by his call -- he sounds like he has a sore throat. It looks like he has begun to grow his feathers back, though he was still quite thin at the top.

Many people in Tokyo really hate the crows; they say they are nasty and threatening and have accused them of wantonly attacking little children and small animals. I'm actually quite fascinated by them. They appear to be quite intelligent and I think they are only aggressive during nesting season when they fiercely protect their young. The official name for them is jungle crow; though one of my neighbors likes to refer to them as "Jurassic crows". Sure they tear in to piles of trash looking for food, but they are only trying to survive in their urban habitat. They have quite a number of calls ranging from growls to barks to the usual caw to what I refer to as the Australian chant -- it sounds like they are saying "walla walla walla walla . . ."