They often appear as tricksters and villains in legends, and seeing them is often seen as a sign of impending bad luck. Certainly, seeing how many of them there are in some parts of the world, you'd probably be better off smashing mirrors under ladders while thirteen black cats run in little circles around you.
In Celtic mythology the Warrior Goddess Morrighan takes the form of a crow, and will frequently be seen watching battle. Welsh legends often have the crow appear as a sign of doom or death.
In Native American folklore, the intelligence of crows is usually portrayed as their most important feature. In some tribes, the crow is conflated with the raven, a larger cousin of the crow that shares many of the same characteristics.
In Native American mythology, the crow or raven is the trickster, or the character who effects transformation of one thing into another. They are endemic to creation mythology. In some tribes they are recognised as the stealers (or collectors) of souls. Norse mythology has more detail, and Odin has two crows who act as his spies. They are named Huginn and Munnin - Thought and Memory - and are an important subset of the Norse pantheon.
Australian Aboriginal mythology, legends relating to Crow have been observed in various Aboriginal language groups and cultures across Australia; these commonly include stories relating to Crow's role in the theft of fire, the origin of death, and the killing of Eagle's son.
In Sweden, ravens are held to be the ghosts of murdered men.
Just seeing a crow isn't necessarily a concern. How many you see is also often a consideration:
Seeing just a single crow is considered an omen of bad luck. Finding two crows, however, means good luck. Three crows mean health, and four crows mean wealth. Yet spotting five crows means sickness is coming, and witnessing six crows means death is nearby. The Roman poet Ovid saw the crow as a harbinger of rain
Pliny The Elder noted how the Thessalians, Illyrians, and Lemnians cherished jackdaws for destroying grasshoppers' eggs (But he also thought Hedgehogs collected apples by stabbing them with their spines, so... you know... take that with a grain of salt.) In Greek legend, princess Arne was bribed with gold by King Minos of Crete and was punished for her avarice by being transformed into an equally avaricious jackdaw
In England, it is said that the Tower of London, and the Kingdom, will fall if any harm befalls the resident ravens.
Their observably high levels of intelligence and complex social structures make most Corvus adaptable and opportunistic.
They're well-known to cause damage to crops and property, spread rubbish, and transfer disease. In densely populated areas around the world, corvus are generally regarded as nuisance animals.
They've been shown to be clever problem-solvers, and they can plan ahead, which is more than many animals - especially animals with brains as small as your average bird.
I like them. They're happy-go-lucky scamps.
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