The Cornell Lab Bird Academy Discussion Groups Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow Approach behaviors towards people recognized and remembered as food providers

    • Just wondering if anyone has stories to share about how any crows first approached to request food. Although we hear about the well-known experiment showing how crows remember and react to people they regard as threats, I have only found one source providing detailed behavioral description of how crows remember and react to people who were of benefit to them, here: https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/animal-behaviour/when-crows-attack/ According to the article, they use a quieter approach, described as
      Crows seeking a handout, for one thing, might tap a person with their feet, but don't typically initiate the more painful beak-on-flesh contact... "Aggressive crows will attempt to stay out of view," Pendergraft added via email. "They'll perch high and fly around constantly, whereas the hungry crows will deliberately remain in the person's field of view when possible – they are hoping to be fed." While panhandling birds usually keep quiet, defensive ones caw a lot.
      As I only found this one source describing crow food solicitation behavior, I'm unsure how well-studied this phenomenon is. So I thought it'd be interesting to see if others here have had any crows seek them out in a similar manner.
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    • Donna
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      We live on a small island off Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  Our house is by the water, with an open deck surrounded by a wooden railing.  Large flocks of crows frequent the beaches as well as forests here.  We have a pair that regularly sit together at the top of a weeping beech at the bottom of our yard by the water.   The male started coming and sitting on the deck railing with some frequency soon after we moved into the house, which had been vacant for several months. One day when he was sitting there, I went out onto the deck and stood quietly by the door.  He began calling and in rapid order 10-15 crows flew into the trees to either side of the deck.  I retreated.   The next day, with no crows in sight, I put peanuts on the deck railing.  Within a few minutes, crows came from all directions.  I retreated and let them sort out who would get the spoils.  I continued to put peanuts out every day or every other day. Several patterns have now emerged.  One, I put peanuts out in early morning or midday when no crows are in sight and group of 5-10 will quickly converge from the beach or surrounding woods. Two, I go out on the balcony and call "hello crow."  The male in the resident pair then comes to a post on the edge of deck and waits while I put a line of peanuts along the railing.  I put the peanuts about 10-12 inches apart and he walks along behind me eating them, always staying about two feet away from me.   Sometimes he goes to the female in the tree and feeds her after eating the peanuts (I've watched with binoculars). Three, about half the time when he sees me come onto the deck or when he comes after I call out "hello crow," he is silent and collects all the peanuts.  The other times he caws actively and summons other crows.  The group snacking that follows usually involves mild but not aggressive squabbling.  Food of all types is plentiful here year round and I've no idea what triggers his decision to notify other birds. This brings me - at last - to the issue of food solicitation.  The fourth pattern is that the male comes to sit on the deck railing close to one of the two large windows overlooking the deck when he sees me or my husband moving around inside the house.  He looks into the window and caws insistently and very loudly.  Guess what?  He's trained us to go out and give him a peanut. One peanut is all he gets.  He doesn't usually do this more than once a day and there are times when he simply watches us through the windows without calling. He also caches food against the side of the house - bits of dead crab from the beach, bits of fish, bread (this is a frequent item but I've no idea who is putting it out for birds). All the crows seemed unconcerned about my dogs and my dogs remain quite calm when the crows are very close on the ground or the trees.  The latter is a bit surprising as one is a small Standard Poodle (hunting dog) and other a Sheltie (herding dog). I was initially concerned about the possibility of aggressive behaviour towards me, the structure of the house, the dogs, etc., associated with demands for food, but all the crows have kept a respectful distance.  They don't dart at me or the dogs or fly close to my head.  The resident male seems weirdly interested in observing me long after it's clear no food will be offered. I think the previous owner of the house fed crows  and they remember eating at their old corner diner under previous management.  We named the resident male Zakir.  If you want to know why, find a YouTube video of Zakir Hussain.
      • Wow! What an amazing experience that must be! Wonderful that your place is already established with them and you can enjoy getting such great observation opportunities of that male's behavior. Thank you for sharing. I found everything you wrote very fascinating! The crows here at my place have been fairly inconsistent, usually becoming more distant after my folks change the landscaping. Something about the changes scares them off it seems. About a week ago, however, the lead male crow flew over me and said "Hello" repeatedly to me in English! He must've either been observing and mimicking people in general as they greet each other, or perhaps there's someone in the neighborhood who keeps saying "Hello" to him. It's interesting though because he stresses the first syllable, as in "HEL-lo." I'm hoping I'll have another opportunity to try to record this someday! My mom asked me, "Are you sure that's not just another bird call?" I can't figure out what bird would call out, "HEL-lo. HEL-lo. HEL-lo" repeatedly though!  
      • Donna
        Participant
        Chirps: 4

        @Lynn How lovely to have a crow say hello to you!  The reason I started saying " hello crow" was to encourage some one of them to learn to say "hello" back.    I hope you have some steady visitors soon.

      • @Donna Thank you! And that's wonderful that you've taken the time to help them learn to say "hello!" I hope some of them will pick up on it! I came across a recent news story about a crow in the UK (Carrion crow maybe?) who learned to mimic a police siren so perfectly that it convinced some officers that their cars were faulty. Ha ha! https://news.sky.com/video/uk-police-officers-were-left-confused-after-resident-crows-learned-how-to-mimic-the-police-sirens-outside-their-station-13112460

    • Paul
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Any advice on ways to attract Crows?  There are quite a few that live around our propery in Western North Carolina, but I have not been able to make any meaningful contact with them.  When I approach to provide food, they simply fly away
      • One thing I've heard about attracting crows is that, initially, they'll be very cautious as you described. So the best way forward is to offer food they like, such as unsalted in-shell peanuts, by setting the food down (don't toss it in their direction because they've been known to interpret this as an aggressive act) and then walking away. It may take them time to come check out the food (after you leave), but they'll eventually make the association with you as the food giver. As they grow to trust, they may accept you being at some distance as they get the food. However, they don't particularly like being watched directly as they grab the food since having their heads down puts them in a vulnerable position.     The crows I feed approached me because they noticed me giving a California scrub jay pair unsalted peanuts for several months, and decided they wanted to take part. That's when I began witnessing their "asking for food" gestures. I've been told that they are observant and noticed how I treat the scrub jays well (respecting their space) and how comfortable the scrub jays are around me. I believe that's how they came to decide to ask for food! :-)