The only bird species to have survived in the Zone, enduring increased radiation levels and effectively avoiding anomalies. While the army pilots need to rely on complex detectors to avoid gravitational disturbances, the crow seems to rely on its own senses for that - a mystery that drives ornithologists and biologists mad. Various theories attempting to explain the phenomenon exist, all of them pointing to a highly specialized development of the bird's brain.
Encyclopedia
Crows are mutated birds appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
Overview
Having evolved from the namesake animal, crows are the only documented bird species to have adapted to and survived in the Zone's hostile environment. Their survival is believed to be related to the crows' ability to sense and avoid anomalies, which scientists believe to be linked to a mutation of the bird's brain.
Unlike most of the Zone's fauna, crows appear to have not underwent physical mutations.
Behavior
Crows have very limited interactions with the Zone's inhabitants. They can be seen circling above set points in the Zone, in flocks of up to 20 crows. The player can shoot and kill crows though there is no reward for doing so, as they do not drop body parts in Shadow of Chernobyl.
In Clear Sky, a bandit named Flayer at the Depot in the Garbage runs a crow shooting minigame, in which one can earn money by killing as many crows as possible in a minute.
In Call of Pripyat and Heart of Chornobyl, crows are depicted as vulnerable to emissions, unlike all other mutant species. It is not uncommon to see large numbers of dead crows dropping from the sky after an emission ends.
Development
|
This article or section is based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cut content and may contain inaccurate information or speculation. |
|---|
Unused icon
Shadow of Chernobyl builds planned to make it possible for the player to eat dead crows. An unused icon for a dead crow can be found in the builds' assets.
|
|
End of information based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cut content. |
|---|
Gallery
Trivia
- Even though crows are supposedly the only birds in the Zone, the sound of songbirds can clearly be heard in Clear Sky in the Cordon and the call of a tawny owl can sometimes be heard at night.
- It is unclear which species of corvid the crows represent. They most strongly resemble carrion crows in appearance, but those do not occur naturally in the area around the Zone. The area has common ravens, hooded crows, rooks and jackdaws. Ambient sound files in the games include calls by hooded crows or carrion crows, and calls by common ravens.
- They may pass through solid objects.
- When killed, crows slowly fall towards the ground while still playing the flying animation, but ragdoll once they hit the ground.
| Mutated animals | |
|---|---|
| Humanoids | |
| Poltergeists | |
| Unknown | |
| Cut mutants | |