News: Corvids

[burdi]

Kate St. John added this news to her blog today:

https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2017/12/03/by-the-light-of-the-supermoon/

[burdi]

Shooting of crows and ravens worries Medicine River Wildlife Center

Sad state of affairs that this is how folks spend their time ...

Read the story here - CBC News - Shooting of Crows and Ravens

How terribly sad.

I'm sure it's very sad (and worrisome) for the "animal hospital and sanctuary", and I can imagine how those who brought the birds in for rehab are feeling.

Many articles can be found that describe the high intelligence of crows and ravens.

I'll never understand how people can commit such horrible and senseless acts to innocent animals.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Shooting of crows and ravens worries Medicine River Wildlife Center

Sad state of affairs that this is how folks spend their time ...

Read the story here - CBC News - Shooting of Crows and Ravens

[jadoo]

...lots of crows in Elmwood cemetary now (during the winter, there was only what I consider to be the over-wintering resident pair)(at least, that I ever saw)...but during my jog yesterday, I saw a crow chasing a rabbit!  Never seen that before - do you think it was serious?  Or just showing off?

[Kinderchick]

Now that photo was certainly something to see!

[jadoo]

...found this on MSNBC...

http://animaltracks.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/16/11226114-crow-hitches-a-ride-on-the-back-of-an-eagle?lite

...I love crows!...

[Kinderchick]

Thank you for posting this, bcf. This was very interesting, indeed.

[birdcamfan]

The CBC show ideas carried an intriguing program this evening on the intelligence of crows. You can listen to the program at http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2010/03/22/wise-guys/

[The Peregrine Chick]

Scientists Say 'Blunt Force Trauma' Killed Arkansas Blackbirds

Scientists investigating the death of thousands of blackbirds in Arkansas say they've identified the cause of death: blunt force trauma.

Locals in Beebe, Ark., were mystified when as many as 5,000 red-winged blackbirds dropped out of the sky Dec. 31.

Studies commissioned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ruled out possible causes such as disease and poison.

The tests revealed hemorrhaging "consistent with blunt trauma," according to a Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. "In most instances, such traumatic injuries in wild birds are due to flying into stationary objects such as trees, houses, windows, power lines, towers, etc."

There has been a string of mass animal deaths so far this year, from dead fish in the Detroit River to hundreds of dead starlings in South Dakota.

Read the rest of this story here ...
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/27/scientists-say-blunt-force-trauma-killed-arksanas-blackbirds/

[Alison]

Birds Having a Crafty Ciggy . . . That's Something to Crow About!

THEY obviously didn’t read the health warnings. This pair of hoodie crows were caught on camera sneaking crafty stolen cigarettes.  The ringleader here was spotted flying overhead in the Maldives with a cigarette packet in its beak.

British tourists Judie and Tony Ellis snapped it perching on a thatched roof and pulling the cigarettes out for its mates. Like seasoned smokers, the crows held them by the filter end and strutted about, the cigarettes dangling from their beaks.

Judie, who lives in aptly-named Crowborough, East Sussex, said: “The crow was taking the cigarettes out. The other crows were picking them up. It was amazing that they seemed to have them in their beaks the right way round.”

British Trust for Ornithology spokesman Paul Stancliffe said: “Crows are intelligent and very inquisitive. Tobacco is vegetable matter, so maybe they thought they could eat it.”

Researchers claim crows are as clever as apes because they make and use tools and even play tricks on each other. The Indian House Crows on the Maldives resemble the UK’s hooded species. But they have not made the big leap which would confirm them as geniuses, not bird brains. They are not yet able to use a lighter – which is good news for the owners of thatched houses.

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/176157/Birds-having-a-crafty-ciggy-that-s-something-to-crow-about/

[Elaine L]

The Intelligence of Crows

CBC had a great show on television the other night on the intelligence of crows.  The study demonstrated how crows can remember faces, not only for a short time, but months later, and how the parents can pass on information like this to their chicks.  Plus, they showed how crows not only use sticks to get at food, but learn how to use a stick to get at another stick, which then is used to get the food.  The commentator on the show said crows have been watching us for a long time, and perhaps we should be paying more attention to them, as their intelligence is on the scale of chimps.  I must admit that watching these crows figure out how to use implements, I wondered if I would have thought of the same thing, so quickly.

If you get a chance to watch it, do!  Can't find the link to the documentary, but here is another CBC link with some info and some suggestions for more information.

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2010/03/22/wise-guys/