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{{short description|Human-like decoy or mannequin placed in fields}}{{Other uses}}{{For|the characters|Scarecrow (Oz)|Scarecrow (DC Comics)|Scarecrow (Marvel Comics)}}File:Kakashi2.jpg|thumb|A grouping of scarecrows in a rice paddy in JapanJapanA scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley Brown (ed.). (2007). "Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles". 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-923324-3}}. Scarecrows are used around the world by farmers, and are a notable symbol of farms and the countryside in popular culture.

Design

File:安全帽を被った案山子6180154.jpg|thumb|upright|A scarecrow wearing a helmet (JapanJapanThe common form of a scarecrow is a humanoid figure dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. Machinery such as windmills have been employed as scarecrows, but the effectiveness lessens as animals become familiar with the structures.{{citation|last=Hartshorne |first=Henry |year=1881 |title=The Household Cyclopedia of General Information |location=New York |publisher=Thomas Kelly |quote=Machinery of various kinds, such as wind-mills in miniature, horse rattles, etc., to be put in motion by the wind, are often employed to frighten crows; but with all of these they soon become familiar, when they cease to be of any use whatever. Additionally, the humanoid frame of the traditional scarecrow was thought to aid in deterring the birds. The most effectual method of banishing them from a field, as far as experience goes, is to combine with one or other of the scarecrows in vogue the frequent use of the musket. Nothing strikes such terror into these sagacious animals as the sight of a fowling-piece and the explosion of gun powder, which they have known so often to be fatal to their race.Such is their dread of a fowling-piece, that if one is placed upon a dyke or other eminence, it will for a long time prevent them from alighting on the adjacent grounds. Many people now, however, believe that crows like most other birds, do more good by destroying insects and worms, etc., than harm by eating grain.}}Since the invention of the humanoid scarecrow, more effective methods have been developed. On California farmland, highly-reflective aluminized PET film ribbons are tied to the plants to produce shimmers from the sun. Another approach is using automatic noise guns powered by propane gas. One winery in New York has even used inflatable tube men or airdancers to scare away birds.NEWS,weblink New Scarecrows for Vineyards: Car Dealers' Inflatable 'Dancing' Tube Men, Kamp, Jon, 29 November 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131129073509weblink">weblink 2013-11-29, Wall Street Journal,

Cultural impact

(File:Circle of scarecrow children at Joe's Scarecrow Village.JPG|thumb|Circle of scarecrow children at Joe's Scarecrow Village)

• Joe's Scarecrow Village in Cape Breton, Canada, was a roadside attraction displaying dozens of scarecrows.WEB, Joe's Scarecrow Village,weblink atlasobscura.com, Atlas Obscura, 30 November 2023, 24 August 2010,
• The Japanese village of Nagoro, on the island of Shikoku in the Tokushima Prefecture, has 35 inhabitants but more than 350 scarecrows.NEWS, Levius, Travis, Valley of the dolls: Inside Japan’s ‘Scarecrow Village’,weblink 30 November 2023, CNN, 23 July 2019,
• In the United Kingdom, where there are a few different languages and several different dialects,WEB, Starkey, Ryan, Map of British English dialects,weblink starkeycomics.com, Starkey Comics, 30 November 2023, 7 November 2023, there are a wide range of alternative names such as:WEB, Kinsley, Austin, Bisterne Scarecrow Festival,weblink'%2C%20and%20'bwbach'., silentearth.org, Silent Earth, 30 November 2023, 29 August 2015, WEB, Scarecrow words,weblink relatedwords.io, Related words, 30 November 2023, {| class="wikitable" width="300px" |

! Name! Locale

	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023	DATE=14 MAY 2014, | Berkshire

	WEBSITE=BBC.CO.UK	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023, 13 May 2009, | Devon

	TITLE=HAY, MAN: THE CURIOUS LIFE AND TIMES OF SCARECROWS	WEBSITE=MODERNFARMER.COM	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023, 28 May 2014, | England

	TITLE=GATCOMBE AND CHILLERTON SCARECROW FESTIVAL 2024	WEBSITE=GALLYBAGGER.ORG.UK	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023, 2023, | Isle of Wight

	WEBSITE=ALZSCOT.ORG	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023		TITLE=TATTIE BOGAL	WEBSITE=SPANGLEFISH.COM	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023		WEBSITE=SKYEGUIDES.CO.UK	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023, 12 July 2011, | Isle of Skye

0-550-11801-2}}.>Bodach-rocais (lit. "old man of the rooks").|Scotland

| Mommet.| Somerset| Mawkin.| Sussex

	WEBSITE=OXFORDREFERENCE.COM	ACCESS-DATE=1 DECEMBER 2023, 2023, |Wales

Festivals

File:Norland Scarecrow Festival 12.jpg|thumb|upright|Scarecrow of The BFGThe BFG(File:Urchfont Scarecrow Festival, Ali Baba.jpg|thumb|upright|Urchfont Scarecrow Festival, Ali Baba)

• In England, the Urchfont Scarecrow Festival was established in the 1990s and has become a major local event, attracting up to 10,000 people annually for the May Day Bank Holiday.WEB,weblink Urchfont Parish Council – Scarecrow Festival, Urchfont Parish, Council, Originally based on an idea imported from Derbyshire, or Kettlewell, North Yorkshire,WEB, Urchfont 25th Scarecrow Festival,weblink urchfontscarecrows.co.uk, Urchfont Scarecrow Festival Charity, 30 November 2023, 2023, it was the first Scarecrow Festival to be established in the whole of southern England.WEB, The UK’s Traditional Scarecrow Festival at Its Best,weblink tv-english.club, TV English Club, 30 November 2023, 1 July 2023,

• Belbroughton, north Worcestershire, holds an annual Scarecrow Weekend on the last weekend of each September since 1996, which raises money for local charities.JOURNAL, Jo, Travis,weblink CUTTING-EDGE OF HISTORY; DOWN YOUR WAY Jo Travis reports on a rural idyll that was once a world capital of industry, Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd, 2008, WEB, Scarecrow Committee (a subcommittee of Belbroughton Parochial Church Council),weblink Belbroughton Scarecrow Festival, The village of Meerbrook in Staffordshire holds an annual Scarecrow Festival during the month of May. Tetford and Salmonby, Lincolnshire, jointly host one.

• The festival at Wray, Lancashire, was established in the early 1990s and continues to the present day. In the village of Orton, Eden, Cumbria scarecrows are displayed each year, often using topical themes such as a Dalek exterminating a Wind turbine to represent local opposition to a wind farm.

• The village of Blackrod, near Bolton in Greater Manchester, holds a popular annual Scarecrow Festival over a weekend usually in early July.

• Norland, West Yorkshire, has a Scarecrow festival. Kettlewell in North Yorkshire has held an annual festival since 1994.WEB,weblink Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival draws in crowds, Bbc.co.uk, 2011-08-14, 2012-07-12, The villages of Cotherstone,NEWS, Banks, Georgia, County Durham village invaded by scarecrows,weblink 30 November 2023, The Northern Echo, 23 July 2021, Staindrop,WEB, Staindrop: best time to visit,weblink travopo.com, Staindrop, 30 November 2023, 2023, and Middleton-in-Teesdale in County Durham have annual scarecrow festivals.NEWS, Carter, Nicky, Characters from kids’ books brought to life,weblink 30 November 2023, Teesdale Mercury, 14 August 2022,

• Scotland's first scarecrow festival was held in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, in 2004,{{citation|url=http://scotland.stv.tv/see-do/190025-tiger-woods-and-homer-simpson-appear-at-village-scarecrow-festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114183036weblink |title=Tiger Woods and Homer Simpson Appear at Village Scarecrow Festival |archive-date=2011-01-14}} and there is also one held in Montrose. On the Isle of Skye, the Tattie bogal eventWEB,weblink Tattie Bogal – Home, is held each year, featuring a scarecrow trail and other events. Tonbridge in Kent also host an annual Scarecrow Trail,WEB, Scarecrow Trail,weblink organised by the local Rotary Club to raise money for local charities. Gisburn, Lancashire, held its first Scarecrow Festival in June 2014.

• Mullion, in Cornwall, has an annual scarecrow festival since 2007.NEWS, No shock that Mullion Scarecrow Festival was 'best ever',weblink 30 November 2023, The Packet, 29 August 2014,

• In the US, St. Charles, Illinois, hosts an annual Scarecrow Festival.WEB, Scarecrow Festival,weblink Peddler's Village in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, hosts an annual scarecrow festival and presents a scarecrow display in September–October that draws tens of thousands of visitors.WEB, Andrew, Unknown, A History Of Scarecrows,weblink sunandseedlings.com/, Sun and Seedlings, 30 November 2023, 8 February 2022, WEB, Celebrating 45 years of Scarecrows in the Village,weblink peddlersvillage.com, Peddler's Village, 30 November 2023, 2023,

• The "pumpkin people" come in the autumn months in the valley region of Nova Scotia, Canada. They are scarecrows with pumpkin heads applied to them doing various things such as playing the fiddle or riding a wooden horse. Hickling, in the south of Nottinghamshire, is another village that celebrates an annual scarecrow event. It is very popular and has successfully raised a great deal of money for charity.WEB,weblink Village hands over £13,500 – Local, Melton Times, 2010-02-09, 2012-07-12, Meaford, Ontario, has celebrated the Scarecrow Invasion since 1996.NEWS, Vance, Stephen, No Scarecrow Invasion For 2023,weblink 30 November 2023, Meaford Independent, 30 January 2023, WEB, Schedule of events 2023,weblink scarecrowinvasion.com, Meaford Scarecrow Invasion, 30 November 2023, 2023,

• In the Philippines in 2015, the Province of Isabela started a scarecrow festival named after the local language: the Bambanti Festival. The province invites all its cities and towns to participate for the festivities, which last a week; it has drawn tourists from around the island of Luzon.NEWS, Abad-Bergonia, Virginia, Bambanti Festival 2018,weblink 30 November 2023, Manila Times, Province of Isabela, 8 February 2018,

• The largest gathering of scarecrows in one location is 3,812 and was achieved by National Forest Adventure Farm in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, UK, on 7 August 2014.WEB,weblink Guinness World Records, 7 August 2014,

Gallery

File:A scarecrow known as "Bungkhyachaa" in Nepali in a cauliflower field in Nepal.jpg|A scarecrow known as "Bungkhyachaa" in Nepali in a cauliflower field in NepalFile:HuiAn - Zishan Town - P1230107.JPG|Scarecrow near Hui'an, ChinaFile:Scarecrow. Drawing by Carus.jpg|Scarecrow. Drawing by Carus. Postcard from 1910–1915.Scarecrow in a chicken field (DSCF5735).jpg|Scarecrow in BelgiumFile:Scarecrow at Madikai Ambalathukara 02.jpg|Scarecrow at Madikai Ambalathukara

See also

• Bird scarer
• Effigy
• Henohenomoheji
• Klopotec
• Kostroma
• Kuebiko
• Straw man (dummy)
• Sōzu
• Kunekune (urban legend)
• Ting mong

References

{{reflist|30em}}

Further reading

Scarecrow Fact and Fable, Peter Haining, 1986

External links

{{Commons category-inline|Scarecrows}}{{Commons category-inline|Scarecrow festivals}}{{Wiktionary|scarecrow}}

• Photo of a crow trap in Australia
• Scarecrows historically speaking

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