A few random notes, which nonetheless may be relevant:

In traditional Punjabi songs there is a fairly sharp divide between what is "women's" and "men's" material.

"Traditional" in Punjabi music, in the way I am using it, really does mean songs where we don't know where they came from. Unlike the broadsides and such of the 19th century that birthed a lot of the traditional or so-called "folk" music in English language, the Punjabi traditional songs were purely oral creations, learned like a lot of us learn "Happy Birthday": on ritual occasions and hardly ever heard on any other.

One could actual translate the word "traditional", alternatively, as "ritual" or "customary." This is in distinction to songs called "folk" which have been spread through mass media (books, recordings, etc) in the 20th century, though they may have re-entered oral tradition and people have "forgotten" their origins. This concept of "folk song," I think, was adopted from the European concept. But since a lot of people fail to make the distinction I'm making here, it's often hard to tell where to place the song.

Anyways...what I call "amateur singing" (not because of lack of skill, but because it it not done as a profession and it is done within ones community) in Punjab is disproportionately the purview of women. Often, they are singing only for/with women of their community. And, as the songs are tied to ritual events and of a somewhat private nature, they have be resilient to becoming commercialized tracks -- most people wouldn't think the truly traditional songs were worth listening to, anyway (they are not "entertainment" in that way).

A lot of Punjabi women's songs focus on the theme of separation. It is customary for the bride, once married, to go and live with the husband's extended family in his village (which must be different than her own). So it is that leaving home and all friends that gives the setting for the sad scenario.

A lot of birds get addressed. Maybe, like you said, because there is no one else. Often the speaker is sitting on an upper level balcony of a house, so ...there aren't many more animals around there, you know? Crows are common -- maybe because they like to sit on the ledges of buildings/houses?? There would also be previous literary/folkloric themes that established this bird or that one as symbolizing this or that. The cuckoo which sings a lot in the sultry monsoon season is kind of indicative of romance. Generally, I think the birds symbolize the pretty universal meaning of freedom, flight, mobility etc. I don't think the black color of the crow is very meaningful, so far as I've seen. It's a relatively "friendly" bird, not a "scary" one -- despite the fact that I've seen crows in India repeatedly swoop down and bite everyone passing by!