The Oxford Dictionary of Etymology explains the origins of the word “caucus.”
Isn’t it obvious that the Algonkins were acknowledging the wisdom of crows? Today, in English, the collective noun is “a murder of crows.” It’s a slander, probably applied to these intelligent Corvids by some celebrated wit at the Algonquin round table… Yes, crows can screech and they will eat small animals. But mostly they eat fruit, grains, nuts, and seeds. Their typical sound is “caw-caw.” Anyone who has heard them gathering in the evening in a tall tree will agree, I’m sure, that the proper term for the assemblage is “a caucus of crows.” —FHG
