RIVER004

Tomas Jirku
(Vancouver, Canada)
“To The Roost”
(Screen-printed poster)

Limited edition of 10 numbered prints. Printed using 3 colour digital off-set printing and 2 colour screen printing on 19×13″ uncoated 100# card stock

Currently sold-out




Every evening, as dusk sets, up to 10,000 crows from across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia make their way to a group of deciduous trees east of Vancouver for the night. Just past dawn each morning they retrace their flight back to their individual territories. ¶ By day, the birds or pairs of birds have defined territories where they search for food and later build nests and breed. But as the sun begins to sink into the western sky, the crows begin to gather in progressively larger groups as they head to the roost. ¶ In some areas of the city the birds will alight on the ground and feed before re-joining the main flock. Others just stop and rest in trees or on houses. ¶ Crows in the roost have a complex social order with the older, more dominant birds often taking the higher branches. The birds work to establish an order as they arrive at the roost and inside, fluffing up their heads and feathers and showing off as they approach. ¶ Through spring the flocks dwindle in size and the population of the roost diminishes as mating pairs remain at their chosen territories day and night. The next season will bring young crows and the flocks will grow again.