A Queensland bird expert believes he may have witnessed the start of an evolutionary change in the nesting behaviours of crows after one pair's "terrible attempt" outside his office.

Professor Darryl Jones had been keeping an eye on one of the eight pairs of crows that have called Griffith University's Nathan campus home for the past few years and noticed one pair were slow in building their nest.

The pair raised three chicks in their urban nest. Credit:Darryl Jones

"Each year they have been making really half-hearted attempt at making a nest - there has been little outside structures outside the building, little ledges," he said.

"I assumed they were a young pair and didn't know what they were doing."