I also notice that they somehow know when I’m headed home (where I will always give them something to eat if I see them waiting in the Chinese elm) or if I’m headed away from home. Sometimes they follow behind me when I’m walking home and sometimes they go ahead of me and just wait in the tree. The younger ones seem to be more curious and like to follow me more and they get closer to me. I wonder if that’s because the older ones have figured me out and have satisfied their curiosity and know I’m going to feed them.

Sometimes when I throw peanuts up on the roof, the feral roosters in our neighborhood fly up and try to chase the crows away. The crows handle this by having one crow stand in front of the rooster and while the rooster chases him the other crows eat the peanuts. I think it’s brilliant.    

Three observations: 1. I saw a dead crow in my driveway ditch and planned to bury it on my return home. (I know it was dead because I could smell the stench and wonder why it died.) When I returned home in 15 mins., it had disappeared. A groundhog lives under part of my deck and that smell hit me at my front door. I'm inferring the groundhog ate the dead crow because the smell disappeared within a day. 2. I saw five crows chasing a running rodent (rat size but couldn't identify it) in a dry catchment basin. From this course, I'm guessing that was a family group. One crow kept stabbing it while it kept running and all the crows were flying/hopping to keep up with it. It appeared a second crow in the group began stabbing it as well when the first crow stopped. I couldn't see the final outcome. 3. In a section of Florida US highway 29 between Palmdale and LaBelle,  I see three crows that appear to eat road kill.  In several crow photos in this course, I've noticed an extension of the upper bill. It reminds me of the Loggerhead Shrike tomial tooth. I recall in the overview of All About Birds, this statement that crow bills can't pierce road kill.  How about the bird that attacked the hard plastic deli container of tabouli? Is it possible some crows that have that sharp extension on the upper bill could do so?  Or could certainly stab a rodent to death?

I’ve heard a lot of stories about crows doing this or that but I’m not sure I believe all of them. Sometimes I think it is the people being creative with their stories. Ha ha. I throw shelled peanuts for crows on my driveway sometimes. Sometimes when I leave my house in the morning 1 or 2 crows will sit on the wire over my driveway and caw. I always wonder if they are making sure I notice them so I’ll throw peanuts before I leave (which I do) or if they are alerting their family. “Hey, peanut lady is leaving her house, get over here and be ready when she leaves so that the grackles don’t get the peanuts first”. Ha ha. Surely, whatever they are communicating is probably simpler. I’m not sure if this strategy is creative or just smart. This question makes me realize that I need to spend more time observing a group of crows for longer periods of time and watch what they are doing and if I see something creative I’ll report back.