Dear Editor,

In days gone by, there was a magnificent bird (when seen from afar) soaring seemingly without much effort above the clouds, singularly or in groups. This bird was the popular John Crow, also known as Turkey Buzzard, Buzzard or Turkey Vulture.

At the time of the popularity of the John Crow, there seemed to have been more stray animals on the street and bushes which would either succumb to death by starvation or otherwise — such as being hit by a motor vehicle on the roads.

The John Crows would then gather and feed on the carcasses of these animals.

A group of low-flying John Crows would sometimes alert individuals that there might be a dead carcass in the fields or bushes. In any event, as late as the ’70s one would always spot a single or group of John Crows circling high in the skies. Today this is not the case. I have driven and walked along roads and paths in modern Jamaica and have rarely spotted one of these creatures.

So, where are the John Crows? John Rashford in an article (1984), The John Crow — graceful or disgraceful bird, described it as “One of the most significant birds of the Jamaican culture”, yet there is no visible or open effort to preserve the existence of these disappearing creatures.

That same article pointed out that the John Crow had been always associated with ugliness:

(a) Every John Crow tink him pickney white.

(b) If yuh fly wid John Crow yuh wi nyam dead meat.

However, if the trend of disappearance continues, future Jamaican populations will ask, “What are you talking about?” when John Crow is mentioned.

Jamaican folklore is rich with tales of the John Crow:

* Indication of a symbol of death.

* The old Jamaican street pastor (nicknamed John Crow Parson) who used to dress in black, traversed Trench Town and had religious shows by “lantern slide”.

* Crows piloting the driverless casket through West Kingston asking for “Mister Brown”.

That said, I think that it may be necessary for the conservationists to pay a little attention to the preservation of the John Crow.

Paul B Rose

prose101@gmail.com