__NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a

beeline A bee line is an idiom for the shortest route or a straight line between two points (see "as the crow flies"): bee line, bee-line, or beeline may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Beeline (brand), a telecommunications brand by VimpelCom L ...

". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'': Crows do conspicuously fly alone across open country, but neither crows nor bees (as in "beeline") fly in particularly straight lines.Villazon, Luis.
“Do crows actually fly in a straight line?”

BBC Focus ''BBC Science Focus'' (previously ''BBC Focus'') is a British monthly magazine about science and technology published in Bristol, UK by Immediate Media Company. Edited by Daniel Bennett, it covers all aspects of science and technology and is writ ...

(August 30, 2017). While crows do not swoop in the air like

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

s or

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

s, they often circle above their nests. One suggested origin of the term is that before modern navigational methods were introduced, cages of crows were kept upon ships and a bird would be released from the

crow's nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...

when required to assist navigation, in the hope that it would fly directly towards land. However, the earliest recorded uses of the term are not nautical in nature, and the crow's nest of a ship is thought to derive from its shape and position rather than its use as a platform for releasing crows. It has also been suggested that crows would not travel well in cages, as they fight if confined.

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External links

"As the crow flies"
''The Phrase Finder''.

''World Wide Words''. {{DEFAULTSORT:As The Crow Flies English phrases Navigation English-language idioms Metaphors referring to birds 1830s neologisms

See also

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External links