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If you were hurt and immobilized out in the woods and there was no one to help, the crows would eat you, if the possums didn't get you first. They would eat you in your own backyard, if you became injured and no one was there to protect you. Think about that, the next time you see some eating at your feeder. If you died or was struck down by a health condition out there, you'd provide them with one last meal.
Chickens will do the same, and pig, as would most any hungry animal.
Tons of crows around here. Hate them. They are so loud. Wake me up every morning.
I now keep a pellet gun handy, and shoot at them. I guess they have learned that I am a threat since they all take off immediately when they see me. Works for me.
A neighbor once had an indoor crow as a 'pet'.They had very high ceilings in the kitchen/dining area with a huge ceiling fan. They even hired someone to put a mesh cover over the top of it so the bird couldn't get whacked by the blades.
One thing they found out they had to hide were prescription bottles. The damn thing wouldn't leave them alone and could take the caps off.
If it got shooed off the table he would fly up somewhere, look down at us and screetch.
Since Ravens have come into the discussion, I'm posting one of my personal stories about a very special one and the crows that were trying to harm him.
A Raven in Distress
Many years ago, on an August day with the temperature at about 95 degrees, the largest raven I've ever seen, flew near our house. It was being aggressively attacked by three crows, which jabbed it hard as they swooped around it. They drove it to the ground and it seemed as though they wanted to kill it. Then, it saw me and quickly flew over and landed on the edge of our roof, next to me. It was apparently intelligent enough to realize that the crows wouldn't come close to me and that my presence offered a refuge.
It was exhausted and overheated, so I told it to sit tight and got it a bowl of cold water, which it eagerly drained. It showed no fear of me at all. Then I brought it a handful of raw hamburger, which it gobbled in a few seconds. Next, it ate a can of catfood and then drank a saucer of milk. After that, it flew into a backyard maple tree, where it was much cooler. I climbed up onto a platform that I'd built in the tree long before and sat on its edge.
The raven came down to a limb right next to me. It talked to me in a series of many little clicks, clucks, and countless other sounds. It resembled a language, in my thinking. We carried on a conversation for half an hour. This congenial bird seemed to enjoy it, when I reached out and stroked the feathers on its neck and head. This is something many birds do to their mates and other feathered friends. Then, it flew up, croaking what may have been a goodby. I got some binoculars and followed its flight for three miles, up into the Coburg Hills, near Armitage Park, northeast of Eugene.
I never saw it again. I had been thinking that it might have made other human friends and perhaps lived with them. But its strong and steady flight into the hills, gave me some doubt about this and I think it was likely a completely wild bird. But it was one who could recognize a friend, when it really needed one.
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed reading your post.
Tons of crows around here. Hate them. They are so loud. Wake me up every morning.
I now keep a pellet gun handy, and shoot at them. I guess they have learned that I am a threat since they all take off immediately when they see me. Works for me.
The reason I shot one years ago is because they mob our fruit trees. They and our squirrels know exactly when to pick our fruit. If I would go out and squeeze one of my peaches or pears and think to myself that tomorrow I will harvest; tomorrow never would come. As soon as I got in the door it was party time! Crows and squirrels working together to strip our trees clean. They crows would eat some and knock some down. I was thinking that they were making an offering to the squirrels simply to keep them out the tree tops so they could peacefully eat? After I shot the one they were afraid of me for many years; of course they still got my fruit when I was not looking!
Talking about smart crows; how many have observed crows and squirrels fighting over the same bird seed or corn on a lawn? It is not an actually fight. The crows know that the squirrels are afraid of large birds swooping down on them (thinking it is a hawk). So the crows dive at the squirrels that then take off to the nearest tree. The crows then proceed to eat. The squirrels take a moment, since they were scared, to figure out that they were played for suckers and then they charge at the crows which are afraid of actually being bitten. Then the whole thing starts over again!
Crows, ravens and jays are so intelligent they think up leisure activities. I once spent a hilarious hour watching two ravens sitting on a wire that ran over a pen full of domestic turkeys. The ravens took turns dropping down to the ground where they would pick up a pebble, fly over the turkeys and drop the pebble. If the pebble hit one of the turkeys it would squak and start running around and all the others would join in the panic. The ravens would watch from the wire until things quieted down and then repeat the process. Careful observation showed that they were indeed taking turns and the fact that they repeated the activity over and over convinced me that it was purely for entertainment.
Haha, yes. The ravens in my area have figured out how to go "sledding." They slide down roofs and piles of snow, on their backs. I'm pretty sure it's recreational because they jump around making excited noises when they reach the bottom, then fly back up to the top to repeat it, and they'll keep this up for a good 10-15 min at a time.
I have crow friends here who bring me little "gifts" because they know I provide food for them. They visit every day and sit up in the largest tree in our yard and "talk."
Last fall there was a crow acting strangely and I went out to see if it was okay. It was sitting in my neighbor's tree and I could tell it was sick because it kept falling sideways.
I sat under the large tree where the crows usually congregate and it flew over and sat on the limb directly above me. I talked to it in what I hoped was a soothing voice for quite some time. Unfortunately it died while sitting on the branch. Then it fell to the ground later that evening. (I was traumatized, seriously. I love animals and hated seeing that poor bird on the ground.) My husband picked it up with a shovel and placed it near our garage. The next day we buried it in the backyard. A huge number of crows flew in circles overhead the next day, being more vocal than I'd ever heard before. It was incredible. I'm sure they were mourning their friend/family member. I was used to seeing at least 5-6 crows in my yard daily but after the "crow funeral," I didn't see them for quite some time. They've come back now, finally. I'd worried that they thought I harmed the crow that died, but if they did think that, apparently they think I'm okay now, thankfully.
Sometimes I find little pebbles or bits of paper, etc. on my patio table (where I sit and paint during the warmer months.) At times I've found a peanut in the shell sitting atop one of my bottles of paint. I put peanuts out for the squirrels, Blue Jays, and crows... and then the crows often share a peanut with me.
There are two crows in particular that I think are remarkably intelligent. They often sit on the peak of my garage and stare in at me. They'll "say something" and I'll "answer" them... and they'll tip their heads to the side like, "I get that you're trying to communicate, but I have no idea what you're saying." I like that they continue to try, though.
I absolutely love crows. I used to have a group of them come every day for the peanuts in the shell. They would take the peanut up to the tree and tap it on the branch to open it. If one saw me come out with the peanuts, I began to notice there was always a common cry they would make, and then all the other crows would start to come from all directions.
Once there was a baby crow on the ground that I thought needed help. The adult crow was in the tree watching me, but I couldn't catch it and realized later I should probably have left it alone. Later that day I found the little guy stuck in a fence, dead. I removed the baby crow and showed it to the adult who was still in the tree. Once I did that, the crow flew away.
They are incredibly smart and IMO exceptionally beautiful. I sickens me to hear how some people shoot them for "fun".
I've always wanted one as a pet. I think someone in a western had one when I was a child. (James West?) In CT I put corn out (and salt licks) for the deer. Crows started showing up. Just a pair. I've relocated to the CA desert and there are lots of crows! I was surprised!
I've read about crow funerals.
My stepdad could make realistic owl calls and crows would come down out of the trees after him!
I have found crows to be particularly intelligent based on a couple of experiences with them.
We used to buy peanuts in the shell for them and would feed them at the same time every morning. The crows would arrive within 5 minutes of us going out the door to put the peanuts down They also found an easy way to open them by setting them down on the sidewalk, picking up a narrow stone and hitting the peanut along the seam.
A second involvement with a crow was under less happy circumstances.
I was working at the back of a shop preparing shipping paperwork and kept hearing a crow making a lot of noise so walked outside to find out why the crow was so loud. The noise seemed to be coming from the dumpster so I opened it and there was a weakened crow tied up in a box. I was furious and ready to cry at the same time--who would do such a cruel thing? I got the crow untied and out of the box. He still didn't fly so I bought him a cheap burger out of the vending machine and gave him some water. He gulped both down and sat for another 30 minutes before he took off.
We had a hand-load truck come in from UPS so me and my co-worker went out to load it and all of a sudden, a crow shoots down from the top of the building, slamming my co-worker in the head cawing loudly. My co-worker starts to make a run for the building and isn't fast enough since the crow dive bombs him multiple times. It turned out my co-worker had been the jerk who had tied up and tossed the crow in the trash ::
No matter what he did (hair dye, hats) the crow recognized him and would dive bomb him every time he saw the guy. Within a couple of days, several crows were dive bombing my co-worker. Can't say that I felt bad for him since he had it coming for being so cruel. Interestingly, the crow also would leave coins and coin-like objects on the step where I had put him where he had recovered from being rescued from the trash.
DH feeds the crows peanuts here and they sit on the garage roof waiting at the appointed time They definitely have a sense of time since they are there no more than 5 minutes early.
How does one feed a crow peanuts, without also feeding squirrels?
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They definitely have a sense of time since they are there no more than 5 minutes early.
