The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow › Crow Research Techniques
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The fact that the crows in the study are given 2 bands as well as a wing tag. If I saw a crow with a wing tag I would think that something was wrong with it, and that it had become entangled in something. Also that you have to draw blood to sex the birds.
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The way you follow them for their entire lives was a surprise to me. Also how many tags they have.
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The length of time that the researchers studied the individual birds and got to know them, even without their tags.
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The wing tags and the radio wires on their backs. They look uncomfortable for the crows. But i know the researchers care about their birds and so im sure it must not bother them too much. also i did not know that crows got white feathers when they got older. Even though there is probably a measureof academic detachment, it must be sad for the researchers when a crow disappears and never comes back. I would be sad after spending so much time with them
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I did not realize that the birds wore multiple identifiers. I am sure getting good visuals on the nests is not an easy task. Would use of a drone be more feasible?
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Lifespan - In the past, I'd believe it was a lot shorter. Good to know. Makes me happy they live longer.
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I was most surprised to hear that individual crows are tracked for so many years! It must be heartbreaking for the researchers to lose a bird after spending so much time with it.
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Amazing lifespan!
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I had no idea that crows live so long. I also was surprised by the size of the wing tags.
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From eggs to grave.
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The ability to age the crows and the longevity of the crows.
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That they do wing tags. I love crows.
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I was struck by the longevity of the crows and the steadfastness of the researchers over many years. It also surprised me that the researchers could examine baby crows so thoroughly, with such a variety of procedures, and then return them to the nest to pursue life as a nestling unperturbed. I wonder if the encounters and procedures remain in the birds' memories or affect their future behavior in any discernible way. In later years do they talk to each other about having been kidnapped by aliens...?
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I was surprised at the wing ID tags, which seemed large and very noticeable, and I wondered if the crows payed any attention to them. The longevity of the crows was also very interesting to learn, however most crows unfortunately won’t reach old age due to accidents.
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My neighbor crows sometimes build a fake nest and then the actual nest they lay their eggs in. The real nest is always in an evergreen, like the ones in the film. They live much longer than I thought.
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The methods to track these birds are amazing. I’m also surprised about where they make their nests, and their longevity, and their white feathers, as they age. It’s really interesting that they have such different personalities. The pictures really help in identification. I’m in Western NY. I would love to spot one of those tagged crows in my field!
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The white feathers were a real surprise to me too! How interesting that they show similar signs of aging as other sentient beings. I hope you see a tagged crow someday!
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Two interesting things - how long the crow lives and where they nest. I now have an idea of where to look for them. Being at the center top of a tree and the crow's nest on sailing ships, how things are named is always interesting.
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-I was surprised by the age of the birds. I've worked with banding birds before so I am familiar with the process. I also learned where to look for their nests.
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Neat that your records include which birds specifically they ate with when they were juveniles. I find it fascinating that these birds' life stories are being recorded.
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The wing ID tags seem very large and my initial reaction was given the bird's intelligence, I wondered if they noticed them or were bothered by them.
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The biggest and best surprise to me was that the researchers didn't use gloves in handling the baby or adult crows. Obviously it didn't affect the parent crows reaction to their babies after they had been handled.
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The biggest surprise was how many different ways the birds are banded
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How many forms of identification they utilize. Also that they sometimes use radio on the birds is interesting. I didn’t know that great horned owls used their nests.
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The fact that they triple tag them, which of course makes sense since they have such a long life expectancy. That they can identify them by their behavior and other characteristics when or if the tags eventually fall off or wear off. That they make their nests high up in the center of tall trees and don't reuse them.
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I found it interesting that they have a hard time finding the nests each year due to the fact that the crows don’t go back to the same nest.
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