What the researcher has to say

Thanks to hundreds of observers and visitors to Paris parks and gardens, thousands of ringed crows are sighted every year, making it possible to study the survival and dispersal of these birds. Crows arrived in Paris in the 1970s. They became more numerous with the adoption of transparent plastic bin liners: it’s very easy for them to pierce them with their beaks to remove our food scraps. Paris is home to around 650 pairs, not counting the flocks of several thousand young in the parks. At the Jardin des Plantes, we put rings on their feet so that we can recognise them individually and follow them wherever they go.

Testimonials from participants

Quentin discovered a ringed crow on the Draek dyke, in Dunkirk, in June 2024, and learnt that it had come from Paris: "We shared a few crumbs and had a chat. At the time, I had no idea where it came from, I wondered about this surprising familiarity, and I imagined a Belgian or English city crow. When I got back to Lille, I tracked it down on MNHN. I was delighted that it came from Paris.

The genesis of the project

Corneilles Paris was created in 2015 when the Paris City Council asked the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle to study Parisian crows. From the outset, the aim was to understand their movements and behaviour.