Viral video does not show foreboding crow swarms in Tel Aviv, Israel; it’s from Texas in 2024

Multiple users were sharing a video on social media platform X since March 25, 2026, claiming that it shows a foreboding swarm of crows in Tel Aviv amid the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran. However, the clip is from the American state of Texas in 2024.

CLAIM

Viral foreboding video of crow swarms in Tel Aviv

RATING JUSTIFICATION

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search and a keyword search to trace the original source.

The ongoing tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran escalated into a war on February 28, 2026, when US and Israeli forces launched large-scale airstrikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure, missile systems, and top security leadership.

Iran responded by launching missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, US military bases, and other locations in the region. Several senior Iranian officials have been killed in targeted strikes, including national security chief Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani on March 17, 2026.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 25, a user shared a video on X, allegedly showing thousands of crows in Tel Aviv with the following caption: “Viral. Seeing thousands of crows in Tel Aviv. What does it mean?”

The post gained 1.5 million views.

An account describing itself as a digital media outlet also shared the same clip with the following caption: “Breaking. Huge numbers of crows in Israhell stormed the area for more hell to come. Israel is finished.”

The post gained 659,800 views.

Pakistani news outlet Bol News shared the same video with a similar caption as well, accumulating 78,500 views.

An Israeli account, based in West Asia, also posted the same clip with a similar caption, gaining 129,200 views.

The video was subsequently shared widely by other X users too, as seen here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively gaining 56,700 views.

Examples of the above video also had a community note wherein it was said to be from Texas.

Additionally, a different video showing thousands of crows in Tel Aviv was also circulating on X, as can be seen here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.

Inspecting the video shows that the number plates on the vehicles are white, whereas vehicle number plates are typically yellow in Israel.

A reverse image search conducted to investigate the viral clip yielded an Instagram video posted on April 15, 2024, with the caption: “Crow swarm in Texas: a scary sight to encounter.”

The visuals in this video match those circulating in the viral clip.

View this post on Instagram

The same video was also found to have been shared by other accounts on Instagram in 2024 pertaining to Texas.

A keyword search further yielded a report by the New York Post, a New York-based tabloid newspaper, dated January 5, 2024, describing a similar incident in Texas, where a large flock of birds gathered in a parking lot. The report explained that the birds, identified as great-tailed grackles, commonly gather in urban areas and parking lots, particularly in regions such as Houston, as part of their natural behaviour.

A reverse image search and keyword search of a second related video yielded a report by British tabloid Daily Mail dated March 25, 2026, which documented large flocks of crows over Tel Aviv.

The report noted that such occurrences are part of routine seasonal bird migration and are not unusual. Experts cited in the report explained that hundreds of millions of birds pass through Israel annually during migration seasons, and large gatherings of crows in urban areas are a recurring natural phenomenon, as opposed to some unusual foreboding event.

Multiple international outlets, including BBC, CNN, and The Guardian, have also reported on bird migration patterns in Israel over the years, reinforcing that such sightings are not extraordinary or linked to conflict.