Mercrow

These aquatic avians would attract any mate they choose, even those from above the ocean surface. When mating with their own kind, a male mercrow does a special display involving a series of movements that informs the female that he wants to mate with her. He spreads his wings, swishes his tail proactively and fluffs up his feathers. He bows to the female and wheels around, singing its mating call. If the female is interested, she and the male “fly” through the sea, zooming, diving and sharply turning by flapping their wings and beating their tails altogether. The two will then fly right out of the sea, and into the air, continuing this for about twenty minutes before coming to a close. The newly-mated pair preen each other, and mate for life. Unlike other crows, the females can also display themselves for a mate.

When attracting land crows and other corvids, the mercrow will fly out of the ocean, sing a sensual rattling that attracts the bird, and performs its courtship ritual, except for its tail swishing. When one sees the mysterious sea corvid, it flies over and takes part. Male mercrows commonly search for a land mate, though, usually, it is the females that attract them. However, once the ritual is over, the newly-mated pair goes back into the ocean, and the land crow is never to be seen again. In order to breathe underwater and fly under the ocean’s pressure, some believe that mercrows would present a special gift to their former aerial mate—either a magic feather that would give the bird the ability to adapt to ocean life, or feed them the same food they eat which would then turn them into mercrows, too.

However, there are negative tales that describe the mercrows. According to some lore, it is believed that they are evil servants of the Devil, who dwells in the deep Underworld at the bottom of a bottomless sea, and kill crows, ravens and other corvids out of sadism or to eat them. If by some chance, fledglings wander too far out to sea, they too would be captured. Afterwards, the mercrows would send their souls to the Underworld.

Mercrows lay their eggs in nests made of coral, kelp, seaweed and anything found, especially man-made items. Like the interbreeding between the carrion and hooded crow, crows and mercrows will interbreed, with little birth defects.

The mercrows are found worldwide, but are rare. If ever found, some crows believe it is good luck, others an ill-omen. It is a hundred years of good luck if one meets and/or mates with a good-spirited mercrow, while terrible misfortune when one sees an evil mercrow. But either way, to corvids, the tales and myths of the mercrow are as immortal as those of the human-like merpeople.

This is an old one I made. Crows do have their own version of mermaids I suppose.