Keith

I live in Calgary, Alberta approximately a one-hour drive from the Rocky Mountains and the famous  resort town of Banff.  Given that we are in the Foothills region of the Rocky Mountains, we get a healthy population of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, Blue Jays and Stellar Jays each spring and summer.  Some of those birds will winter in the Calgary area, but many more will migrate south.  As described in the course material we find the crows to be highly social and gregarious, not to mention noisy.  They are also very skilled flyers and at times seem to take to the air simply to enjoy flying and practicing their aerobatics.  The ravens we have around are much more solitary and not nearly so noisy.  They generally sit on a higher vantage point and watch carefully for any food they may spot, such as road kill, a plastic garbage bag, etc.  I normally spend a fair bit of time in the outdoors (mountains and plains) and, as noted in the course materials, we often rely on the calls of the crow or a nervous squirrel to warn us of anything unusual that may be on the trail ahead.  Of course, they also tell all other birds and animals where we are, too.