[3] The crow’s nest disappears completely from depictions of ships after the seventh century, although the relationship between a raised vantage point and better visibility continued to be well understood.
[citation needed] According to a popular naval legend, the term derives from the practice of Viking sailors, who carried crows or ravens in a cage secured to the top of the mast.
[citation needed] In classic railroad trains, the box-like structure above the caboose, the cupola, was also called the crow's nest.
A crow's nest is not a normal type of purchasable blind, but an improvised position, built by using locally discovered natural flora (tree branches, moss, snow (during winter) or sand (during summer), etc.).
A crow's nest works in most environments and provides a good lookout point (hence the name) when built in an elevated position like a hillside or top of a hill.