Three Black Crows

Three Black Crows is a three-candle bearish continuation/reversal pattern — the mirror of Three White Soldiers. Three consecutive bearish candles march steadily lower, each opening within the previous candle's body and closing near its low. It shows sustained, disciplined selling over three periods. One of the most reliable bearish patterns.

Three Black Crows candlestick pattern diagram

Pattern Anatomy

All three candles must be bearish (Close < Open) with non-zero bodies
Each candle opens within the previous candle's body (c2 opens between c1's Close and Open, c3 opens between c2's Close and Open)
Each candle closes lower than the previous (c2.Close < c1.Close, c3.Close < c2.Close)
Each candle closes near its low — a small upper wick relative to the body (strong close near the low)
The upper wick is measured from the top of the body to the high

How to Interpret

Strong bearish signal showing methodical selling
Most significant after an uptrend or at resistance — signals potential reversal
If appearing after an extended downtrend, may signal exhaustion rather than continuation
Volume should increase or hold steady across the three candles for confirmation
"Orderly retreat" — sustained selling over three periods is more significant than a single panic candle

How Engulfy Detects the Three Black Crows

All three candles must be bearish (Close < Open) with non-zero bodies
Candle 2 must open within Candle 1’s body
Candle 3 must open within Candle 2’s body
Each candle must close lower than the previous
Each candle must close near its low — only a small upper wick relative to the body (sellers maintained control through the close)

Engulfy checks that sellers closed each candle near the low. This distinguishes Three Black Crows from three random red candles where buyers fought back and pushed price up from the lows.

Expert References

The name evokes crows perched on a dead tree — an ominous sight in Japanese folklore
Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques — describes this as a pattern of relentless selling pressure
Thomas Bulkowski, Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts — found Three Black Crows acts as a bearish reversal/continuation approximately 78% of the time
Engulfy ranks this as a high-priority pattern

Controversy & Limitations

After an extended downtrend, can signal exhaustion — the "deliberation" variant where the third candle shows hesitation
The opening-within-body requirement limits formation in markets prone to gapping
The specific upper wick threshold is Engulfy-specific — other platforms may use different tolerances or none at all
Three days of selling may already represent the bulk of the move — the pattern may be recognized too late for optimal entry