KATHMANDU, Nov 5: A young man with a microphone stepped onto a small stage and cawed like a crow. Minutes later, hundreds of noisy birds circled above him, perched on trees and sat on roof tops, astounding the crowd at a show called the “crow conference”. Gautam Sapkota, fondly known in Nepal as “charidada” or “bird brother”, then made another series of sounds. The crows fell silent before disappearing into the grey sky before dusk. (agencies)