Gorcrows

Excerpt from illustration by Alan Lee

Gorcrows were a legendary species of birds, only mentioned in passing in Hobbit verse. These foul crows, who croaked in their sleep, are said to have lived in the same damp marshes as the fearsome Mewlips.^[1]

"And gloomily the gorcrows stand
Croaking in their sleep."

― The Mewlips

Etymology

Gorcrow, "gore crow", is an old English name for carrion crow.^[2]

Portrayal in adaptations

1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Gorcrows are said to have 4 ft. wingspan and to be smaller cousins of the crebain,^[3] and to be attracted to shiny things.^{[note 1][4]} The northern gorcrow, living in Forodwaith, is described as a larger version of the common gorcrow. The Lossoth are said to regard the norhern gorcrows as birds of ill-omen.^[5]

Notes

References

1. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "The Mewlips"
2. ↑ Patrick J. Cassidy, ed. (1913), Webster Dictionary
3. ↑ Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth (2nd edition) (#2012)
4. ↑ John Crowdis (1990), Rogues of the Borderlands (#8014), p. 6
5. ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025)