Notorious 'single mother' CROW terrorizes New Orleans neighborhood by angrily pecking at anyone who dares to enter her territory

By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:56, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 22:06, 1 July 2026 A New Orleans neighborhood is being terrorized by a crow who seems to attack people at random. A journalist went viral earlier this year after she filmed herself walking down the street in the Uptown neighborhood as the bird swooped down and pecked at her. 'I see a crow,' Nola News video producer Hannah Levitan said in her video posted on April 28. The crow then snuck up behind her shoulder and ambushed her. 'That was the one,' Levitan said as she fled to her car. 'This would be my luck. Oh my god, oh my god, it's following me. Are you kidding me?' The incident prompted Levitan and her colleagues to investigate why the bird was seemingly targeting pedestrians. Resident Stacey Barbe told the journalist she knows of at least 10 other people who have been attacked by the bird, and locals have come up with a speculative backstory for it.  'She became personified here in the neighborhood. In other words, we describe her like she was a widow,' Barbe said. Nola News video producer Hannah Levitan filmed herself walking down the street in the Uptown neighborhood as the bird swooped down and pecked at her The crow then snuck up behind her shoulder and ambushed her, and she fled to her car 'Don't mess with a single momma, baby. They're going to protect their young.' She added, 'We got neighborhood stories of "Oh, she's got a nest and her partner died. He was hanging from the wire and she was mourning him. And she's just alone protecting her nest now."' On Reddit, other people have reported being attacked by a crow in the same area. 'Watch out for a deranged crow on Audubon Boulevard. It attacked my head the other day walking home from work and I have seen it do the same to other innocent passersby! Not sure if it is defending a nest or if it just has hate in its heart but be warned,' one person wrote. A second person added, 'Exact same thing happened to me there last week. That thing came after me three times and I had to sprint off to escape and maintain my dignity. Might need to contact an attorney that specializes in bird law.'  'Crows are smart, someone probably f**ked with it. Now any human who passes by shall feel the crow’s wrath,' wrote a third person. It is unclear if it is the same bird attacking people or multiple birds. Wildlife experts told the newspaper it is likely different birds that are engaging in a habit called scolding, which is when crows attack a perceived threat. It is unclear if it is the same crow (stock image) attacking people or multiple birds, but wildlife experts told the newspaper it is likely different birds that are engaging in a habit called scolding View this post on Instagram 'If you’re someone that the crows don’t like, and they recognize you, maybe you would get targeted,' said Nick Mason, an assistant professor in LSU’s Department of Biological Sciences and curator of birds at the Museum of Natural Science. 'If they feel like a human is encroaching onto their territory, it’s probably because they’ve got a nest nearby or something like that.'  The Daily Mail contacted the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for comment. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.