Title: |
Crows |
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Author: |
Candace Savage |
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Category: |
Non-Fiction |
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Rating: |
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Date Reviewed: |
August 3, 2024 |
The Corvus family of birds includes crows, ravens, jackdaws and rooks - a total of 45 species in all. They thrive on six continents around the world. Recently, the New Caledonian crow was observed ripping a twig off of tree, bending the twig into a hook, and then using its beak to push the twig into holes in the tree bark. The crow jiggled the twig around a bit, and then drew it back out, and promptly gobbled up the grub that it had hooked. This behavior made the crow the only other known tool using creature besides the chimpanzee - all the the New Caledonian birds are smart enough to form these simple tools. Since crows obviously are not mammals, scientists have become much more intrigued by crows and launched more studies to observe their remarkable behaviors. Crows are social creatures, it is thought that this might be a driver for their intelligence - they have to recognize behavior in the rest of the flock, and develop strategies for cooperating or competing with the other birds. One chapter deals with how crow family relationships work - sometimes the crows will disperse after fledging, but sometimes they will stick and remain with their parents for a year or two, helping out with the next year's hatchlings. This is remarkable because crows only live about seven years. Crows are monagomus, except (like humans) when they cheat on their spouses if they think they can get away with it. Crows are known to be playful - they have been seen riding lids like sleds down rooftops. At the end of the ride, they carry the lid back to the peak of the roof and ride again. Crows can be deceitful - if they come upon a big feast, they will eat as much as they can, and then carry away more to be stashed in hidden cache. But if another crow is watching (while pretending not to be observing!), the crow will act like it is hiding food in one location and then fly off to another spot. Crows cannot rip open large carcasses, such as a dead deer, so they have been observed leading wolves to the dead animal, and then feasting alongside the wolves. Crows recognize humans. When one researcher annoyed a flock by banding baby birds, the crows screeched at him loudly whenever he stepped outside, even if he was amongst a crowd of students. If he left campus for a few months, and then returned, the crows remembered. Even more impressive, if he visited nearby areas where he had not banded fledglings, the crows there still knew who he was - they had been forewarned! Crows possess a wide variety of vocalizations. Though each particular bird might only make a dozen sounds, many of them are original to that bird. It seems as if the crows have to be taught crow-speak, to learn basic cries of alarm or food, but otherwise they develop their own personal songs, which they share with their family. I am sure there are many more impressive crows behaviors to appreciate, I wish more had been included in this volume. |
