Ahoy Comics’ Project: Cryptid series has been digging deep for some obscure monsters, and we’re here for it. The first story in issue #7, by Joseph P. Illidge, Jamal Igle, and Juan Castro, is a little different — a tale about John Crow, from Jamaican folklore and superstition.
Carrion, my wayward son
According to the cryptid file page in Project: Cryptid #7, “John Crow” refers to a Jamaican Crow, an “inky or dusty black carrion-like bird,” also known as “jancro” and “jancrow.” The real-life bird is actually a turkey vulture, scientifically known as Cathartes aura. In many places here in America we call them buzzards, and we try not to get too close, for fear they might vomit on us in self defense.
These monstrous birds are something to witness. Standing around 2-3 feet tall and with a wingspan of 4-6 feet, turkey vultures are not only massive, but they almost command respect. An up close encounter with one may feel uncomfortable because they’re so quiet; they don’t have a syrinx (the bird equivalent of our larynx) and are only able to communicate through low grunts and hisses.
Turkey vultures are actually quite beneficial to their ecosystems as scavengers, eating the rotting flesh of dead animals, which recycles them back into nutrients for the environment. They don’t eat much, only about 5-7 ounces of meat a day, and luckily for them, their stomach acid levels are extremely high. High acidity and a gut bacteria balance that would be toxic to humans likely help keep the John crows’ diet from making them sick.
Turkey vultures can be found stretching their wings and neck out in the heat, tucking their head down into their bodies when it’s cold, and urinating or defecating on their own legs. Yes, turkey vultures participate in urohydrosis. It actually serves two functions: 1) as the urine evaporates from the legs, it creates a cooling effect, and 2) the urine has bacteria-fighting properties that help to kill anything the John crows may have gotten on them while feasting.
Turkey vultures use thermals to glide through the air, with hardly any wing movement. They can soar easily to 10,000 feet or higher, some doubling that height. As high as they may go, it’s no surprise the John crows find their feasts with more than just keen eyesight. Buzzards can smell their meal from great distances, up to 5 miles away, and can detect the earliest, faintest scent of decay.
Buzzard keep on flyin’ over
Okay, so while fascinating, they are a little gross, and it makes sense why turkey vultures are seen as omens of death and destruction. In Jamaica, there are quite a few beliefs surrounding John crows that range from simple superstition that someone will get sick if one lands on your home, to complex fears that they’re somehow evil incarnate, bringing eternal suffering to your soul. They’ve been villainized as dirty, rotten flesh-eating, wicked creatures that thrive on the hot underbelly of all things evil.
Regardless of wherever an individual may believe the homely buzzard stands on the scale of supernatural ability, it seems that most agree that the name “jancro” is used as a derogatory term. A few folksongs and sayings have helped to solidify its existence as one of the most demeaning insults in Jamaica, both historically and to this day. The implication is subhuman — calling a person a John Crow defines them as completely irredeemable, worse than evil incarnate, or a dirty, scum-of-the-earth type of individual.
Omen of death, curses of suffering, and racial subjugation? Yes, unfortunately. The plumage of the John crow is linked to blackness, inviting psychological ties to racism, classism, and colorism. The unfortunate reality is that Americans aren’t the only ones struggling with these issues — tensions exist in Jamaica and in many other countries, where even lighter bronze tones seem to be given privilege.
One interesting, simple example is in the Jamaican tales of “Headman” or “Parson” John Crows. These are turkey vultures with leucism, a loss of pigmentation that causes white areas of discoloration that can appear similar to albinism. According to folklore, the light or white “Headman” of the vultures — not coincidentally named for slave-keepers — are allowed special pecking order privileges and considered to be higher up in value and ranking. Whether that’s actually true for buzzards in the wild is unknown, but most birds with leucism are considered to be at a disadvantage.
Don’t fear the reaper
Should we be afraid of turkey vultures? No, they really are valuable creatures, even if they are a little on the morbid side. While John Crows aren’t necessarily a cryptid, they definitely earn a spot among the duppies, jumbees, and other tales of the Caribbean, which still hardly scratch the surface of the wealth of Jamaican folklore.
AIPT Science is co-presented by AIPT and the New York City Skeptics.
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