Corvid Appreciation Thread

[Eldritch]

If Men had wings and bore black feathers, few would be clever enough to be crows.

Barring some species of parrots, the corvids (crows, ravens, magpies, jays etc.) are by far the most intelligent of all birds.

Based on their remarkably high encephalization rates, they are estimated to rival many primates, and almost certainly surpass dogs and cats, in intelligence.

Crows live in elaborate extended families, called a murder of crows.

They are capable of assigning specific tasks to members of the group, and they send out scouts and employ lookouts.

They can improvise tools on the spot when foraging for food, and keep their tools and carry them to the next spot. The can remember hundreds of hiding spots where they store their excess food. They love problem solving, playing pranks on dogs, and skating on icy surfaces in wintertime.

They never forget a human face, nor what the human in question has been up to. And they pass that information on to other crows. Crow "language" contains over 20 different "phrases".



Crows are monogamous, and if a crow's partner dies, other single crows of the opposite gender that live nearby will often be seen visiting and courting the widowed crow.

[Eldritch]

Some corvid YT videos:

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[YOUTUBE]lrYPm6DD44M[/YOUTUBE]

[San Galgano]

I had a couple of crows once.
They lived om my shoulders basically.
They went around and then came back home after 1 or 2 hours.
Once one didn't find the way to my home, then i went to search and found it flying 2 or 3 km from my home.
I was in my car with windows opened, i started to call him, and it entered inside the car.
(i know it seems unbelievable but i swear it)
Very smart beasts.
People thought my house was the Adams' family house.

[Psychonaut]

Corvids are the best. To begin, a photo of two and a song about three:



[youtube]0_ZCil_-sVM[/youtube]

[Treffie]

Ravens are making a comeback in England after being `exiled` to the Celtic Fringe.

[Bloodeagle]

The raven is the largest species of songbird and largest all-black bird in the world.

I often find it difficult to tell the difference between the raven and the eagle, especially the juvenile bald eagle, when airborne. They are rather large birds!

Ravens often form loose flocks during the day and congregate for roosting at night. As many as 800 ravens have been seen in one roost near Fairbanks, Alaska.

They are like packs of wolves in the winter months, descending upon carrion like the buzzards do in the Southlands!

An analysis of hundreds of raven pellets from Umiat, Alaska, indicated that 50 percent of the raven's winter diet consisted of live prey (mostly small mammals) captured by ravens.
Various species of Corvids have been persecuted for damage done to man's crops or favored species of game birds. Ravens have been known to kill sickly young farm animals. More often, however they are probably scavenging on animals killed by other predators. Additionally, ravens have reportedly killed reindeer calves kept by Eskimos.

Ravens are one of the greatest predators of outdoor chickens in my area!

[Allenson]

We have three types around here--ravens, crows & bluejays. All of them are very smart but our dog hates them. If she hears a crow cawing away, she barks and barks and runs around trying to find it.....

[Eldritch]

...

If she hears a crow cawing away, she barks and barks and runs around trying to find it.....

... But never manages to find it, right?

The crows where my parents used to live loved to play the same prank on my parents' fox terrier. She had more guts than most dogs three times her size, but she was dumber than a box of rocks. The crows would land on the field maybe 20 meters away from her, and then wait till the absolute last second to fly off when when she ran towards them -- only to land again a little further away. She never, ever caught on.

[Allenson]

... But never manages to find it, right?

The crows where my parents used to live loved to play the same prank on my parents' fox terrier. She had more guts than most dogs three times her size, but she was dumber than a box of rocks. The crows would land on the field maybe 30 meters away from her, and then wait till the absolute last second to fly off when when she ran towards them -- only to land again a little further away. She never, ever caught on.

No, she never even comes close. She's a 'rescue' dog who was likely born on the streets and we have a theory that when she was young, she had to compete with crows for food scraps, hence her dislike for them.

LOL @ the crows that taunt your parent's dog. That sounds like the crows that eat the roadkill along the roadsides around here. They literally wait till the last second to fly away from an approaching car.

[Bloodeagle]

... But never manages to find it, right?

The crows where my parents used to live loved to play the same prank on my parents' fox terrier. She had more guts than most dogs three times her size, but she was dumber than a box of rocks. The crows would land on the field maybe 20 meters away from her, and then wait till the absolute last second to fly off when when she ran towards them -- only to land again a little further away. She never, ever caught on.

I have watched the local magpies perform this same trick on the poor dogs!
We have many gray jays commonly known as camp robbers, they will eat the dogs food if they leave their bowls unattended.