Elaine
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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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1. I remember a few years ago, there was a crow that seemed "different" than the others, i.e: not as healthy. My memory is somewhat spotty, but I believe he had some issue with walking. He could have been a crow with a missing foot, but I can't verify that. I do wonder, though, has any crow ever lost both feet? It seems odd that all instances show these crows with only one injured foot, but might there be some instances where a crow actually has an injury to both feet, and what are the consequences? To my knowledge, I do not know whether West Nile Virus had a significant impact on the crow population where I live. I find it interesting that crows can actually attack other crows or other birds. I thought their bill wasn't the right "equipment" for doing such damage as they are primarily scavengers and clean up other animals' messes. They let others do the "killing" for them, or so I thought. 2. The crows that live behind my house (there are about eight or so of them that always seem to be together) seem to be mostly cooperative with each other. They band together when there's an offending hawk or fox nearby and go after that predator. I've not seen any attack other crows, but I'll be more on the lookout now!
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1. I'm not sure about the specifics of the genetics of crows, but perhaps it could cause genetic deformities in future generations, especially with the mother-son inbreeding? 2. Perhaps it's an instinctive survival behavior that helps to increase the species population where disease and enemies may be a factor?
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It seems to me that due to the intelligence of this bird and the variety of options it instinctually has to be a breeder, it generally might have an easier time than many other species to be a breeder, but I do think it depends on on each bird's situation. Perhaps a bird doesn't have a living siblings, so the option to go off with a sibling may not be available to that particular bird; or perhaps an enemy, such as a hawk or an owl, has infiltrated its parental territory in recent days making staying home a difficult option. Though I must say I have seen family groups go after hawks that have attacked nests. They don't seem to be a very shy species!
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1. I have a large back yard with a very large maple tree, but my yard backs up to a wooded area with many very large trees. I do have a group of about eight crows that live in the wooded area very close to my property edge. While I do not recall large roosts of crows, I have seen the number "eight" increase to about fifteen or so. The time of year remains fuzzy to me, but I am going to pay much closer attention as we are approaching the winter season. Many times, my crows roost in the large trees of the wooded area, so I can't always tell how many individuals there are, but I will take the time to study them more carefully this winter to make a more accurate count. 2. When I see a large roost of crows, the first thought that comes to mind is "food." Someone found a food source nearby and has notified other individuals as to this source. Now I know there may be other reasons crows may actually roost together.
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1. I have not noticed a group of crows larger than about seven in my yard at one time. I believe this to be a family, the same family that has been living behind my house for a number of years now. 2. Yes, once a large flock of redwing black birds landed at my feeders. I believe they were migrating. There must have been about 40 birds in the flock.
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1. There is a family of about seven crows that lives behind my yard in the wooded area. They often fly and forage for food together and rest on our trees. I notice a lot of cawing between these crows - and the cawing takes on a rhythmic pulse which seems to be a form of communication, much like Morse code. Next, other crows respond in the same rhythm and then will take an action, such as fly to a meeting place. I have never seen any other birds communicate in such a fashion. 2. Other birds do not communicate the way crows do with rhythmic sounds that mean something. I do see other species of birds in flocks or with mates, however, but they don't seem to have as much of a personal interaction in the same way crows do. 3. We can keep down the mosquito population by making sure we eliminate areas of standing water on our properties whenever possible. Mosquitoes breed in standing water.
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Going up into the nests to capture the baby crows to take blood and band them. I hope they are gentle with them :)
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In person, it's easy for me to distinguish crows from ravens. Ravens aren't really in my area, so I don't see them much, if at all. But if I do see them, they are much larger than crows, so that makes it easy. Seeing pictures of each bird is a little more challenging. As far as crows vs. other blackbirds, I start with eye color, as many other black birds have light eyes, whereas crows have dark eyes. I also look for other colors in the feathers. Crows are all black, but other blackbirds may have sheen in their feathers or even bright colors or distinguishing colors.
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1. I actually have a neighbor who greatly dislikes crows. I would tell her that it most likely isn't crows that are killing nestlings, but squirrels, chipmunks and snakes are more likely the culprits. 2. I have about 7 crows that live in the woods directly behind my house and property. I have not actually seen their nest, but I know approximately where it is as I have seen them flock to the same location a lot. I also know when a hawk invades their nest as quite a commotion ensues. I have also seen the crows warn me when a fox was approaching. He was looking for my pet rabbit whom we had in an outside pen the day before and he attacked her. When the fox came back, the crows sent out a very loud and unrelenting scolding. I ran out to see what was happening. Mr. Fox turned right around and headed back to the woods when he saw he was outnumbered. You can bet our rabbit never was outside like that again. 3. I think where I live is just out of the range for the raven, but I think I have, on very rare occasion, seen ravens around here. I haven't seen enough to know how their behavior differs, but I don't think they communicate in the same way with each other as the crows do. 4. Animals, such as owls, who use their abandoned nests and they are a food source for predators, though it seems they stand up to about any creature, so I can't imagine they are anyone's meal too often.
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)