A couple of days ago I caught one of those Radio 4 gems that
you never plan to listen to, but accidentally catch. It was about Crows.
I didn’t used to like crows or rooks or jackdaws ( I’m not
very good at telling them apart, but apparently they are all related ). I used
to think of them as the bully boys of the garden, who kept the finches away from my feeders.
However, the rookery based in the trees behind my house here in Hebden Bridge
has provided me with hours of fun, watching their industry.... and playfulness.
They have observational as well as experiential memory apparently....they watch, and
remember what they have seen. Some are thieves, and will hide food, but if they
realise they have been watched, they will wait until the watching crows have
departed and they will re- hide it, as they expect their observers to steal
from the original hiding place. However, crows that have never stolen food
themselves do not have this expectation about others’ behaviour and will not re
hide food. I’m not sure exactly what controlled experiments have been done to
establish this, but I found it fascinating.
They have large brains, they use tools, they work in teams,
they communicate with each other in quite complex ways and they do not require
immediate gratification....they store food for later, hiding and re -hiding it,
presumably depending on their previous level of criminality !
As I read this, Janice, I seem to recall seeing a program like this, tripping upon it quite accidentally, and was fascinated. Our crow population has dwindled because of West Nile virus, but we started to notice them returning last summer.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely and informative post this was.
Thanks Penny, they are strange creatures, and my enjoyment watching them this spring has been enhanced by the chance catching of the radio programme. J.
DeleteVery interesting stuff... Isn't it fantastic when you just 'happen' by something by chance and it's wonderful? Great pictures to go with the story, too...
ReplyDeleteyes... and radio 4 is wonderful for those sort of programmes isn't it. You just switch it on, and never know what unlikely gems are going to be there. J.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post Janice. Who would have guessed how intelligent these birds are?
ReplyDeleteyes, for years I've shooed them out of the garden, thinking of them as real bullies, but I have become strangely fond of them in the last few weeks. I'm looking forward to watching the fledglings leave the nests. J.
DeleteJanice...this was a very interesting post as I learned something. We have a ton of these 'crows' in my backyard...... they come in swarms.
ReplyDeleteI have these very old large crab-apple trees and they love to snack on them...well they use them as a buffet.
I also can't tell these birds apart, they all seem to be the same color but different sizes I noticed....last summer I saw a Hawk attack a very large crow.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Thanks for your comments Erica ( Irene), It must have been a pretty brave hawk to attack a crow... however bright they might be, they still look quite scary to me. Those beaks are huge...but hawks generally know what they're doing dont they. Hope your' weekend is good too. J.
DeleteAnother fascinating post, Janice. One of my churches used to have a big rookery in the churchyard trees and I enjoyed seeing them whenever I took a service there. Years ago we found a fledgling crow which had obviously fallen out of its nest and was very hungry. We fed it and made a little shelter for it until it had finished fledging and could look after itself. Our farmer neighbour thought we were made to bother with a crow....
ReplyDeleteCrows do seem to have an unpleasant reputation. I've just realised that when the leaves emerge fully on the trees behind my house, I will not get such a clear view of their antics.....perhaps its time to go to France ! Hope all is well with you. J.
DeleteI should have known crows were fascinating - Mateo has a real interest in them and has told me about the tool-using. I still find them a bit scary but I love your post! Axxx
ReplyDeleteThanks Annie, my attitude to them has mellowed as I've spent time watching them this year....I really do enjoy the idea of "time on your hands".... I can decide to just watch crows for an hour if I want to. Jx
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