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When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

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Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#61

Post by AbacusAvenger »

danielbln wrote: post #56
sharkweek wrote: post #37

So fascinating! There is a young girl in Seattle who made friends with the local crows by feeding them, they soon were bringing her regular gifts in exchange for her snacks - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026 I tried to do the same thing in my backyard for about three weeks until one day my wife caught me putting little pieces of bread on our porch railing. She asked what I was doing and I explained making fr…

To put the story you linked in context, it's less "little girl feeds a couple of crows" and more "large scale feeding operation" that pisses of the neighbors: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Neighbors-sue-to-stop...

Well, that's one interpretation, and the city and health department have made statements disagreeing with it. We'll see what the courts say eventually, it's scheduled to go to trial in August 2016. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Crow-feeding-Seattle-...

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#63

Post by MichaelMoser123 »

Crows also seem to be doing analogies http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/crows-understand-a...

Douglas Hofstadter says that thinking is all about making analogies, so that is all pretty remarkable.

https://www.amazon.com/Surfaces-Essences-Analogy-Fuel-Thinki...

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#64

Post by enraged_camel »

By the way, when there are crows around, do not stare or point at other birds' nests if you spot any among the tree branches. Crows are very good at reading human gestures. If they see a bunch of humans staring and pointing at something, they will understand that there is something of interest in that direction, and will inevitably find and destroy the nests.

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#65

Post by sdkjfwiluf »

On my way to work one morning I came across a raven funeral. I didn't know that's what it was at the time. All the ravens (Australian) were gathered broadly in a disk amongst the trees, there were about 20 of them, all quiet and quite still. I had a choice of routes, either through them or around them to the right, I chose the latter as I didn't want to disturb whatever they were doing.

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#66

Post by Zelmor »

steveax wrote: post #52

A couple of years ago, near dusk, I heard a hell of a bird ruckus and went out to the front porch to have a look. What I saw blew me away: a young coyote was making haste down the middle of the street, ears down and tail between its legs being pursued by a very noisy aggressive murder of crows. They literally chased him out of the neighborhood.

This can happen to people as well. I've heard stories about people throwing rocks at ravens in parks, where the ravens at later events responded by crapping on the person from up high, or throwing small rocks and twigs on him as they flew by.

Never forgive, never forget.

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#67

Post by kabouseng »

AbacusAvenger wrote: post #61
danielbln wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To put the story you linked in context, it's less "little girl feeds a couple of crows" and more "large scale feeding operation" that pisses of the neighbors: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Neighbors-sue-to-stop...

Well, that's one interpretation, and the city and health department have made statements disagreeing with it. We'll see what the courts say eventually, it's scheduled to go to trial in August 2016. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Crow-feeding-Seattle-...

I think this says a lot : "A petition signed by 51 neighbors filed a petition with the city of Seattle failed to prompt action."

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#68

Post by PhasmaFelis »

danielbln wrote: post #56
sharkweek wrote: post #37

So fascinating! There is a young girl in Seattle who made friends with the local crows by feeding them, they soon were bringing her regular gifts in exchange for her snacks - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026 I tried to do the same thing in my backyard for about three weeks until one day my wife caught me putting little pieces of bread on our porch railing. She asked what I was doing and I explained making fr…

To put the story you linked in context, it's less "little girl feeds a couple of crows" and more "large scale feeding operation" that pisses of the neighbors: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Neighbors-sue-to-stop...

Not enough data to draw a firm conclusion from here, but I've heard enough stories of busybody neighbors to be suspicious of anyone who comes in claiming that bird poop has caused $200,000 worth of property damage. You'd expect the whole neighborhood to be leveled every time a starling migration comes through.

Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)

#69

Post by Fricken »

rudedogg wrote: post #6

My dog has been on a killing spree this summer, sometimes catching 2 birds in a week :(. It's amazing how the birds react when she catches one. They all go nuts, and more fly in and start squawking. I worry they'll call in a hawk to carry her away lol.

I heard some squawking in the yard, and went out to investigate. My cat had caught a young robin. There was a pair of robins, a pair of bluejays and a pair of crows all squawking, divebombing and generally harassing my cat. The robins and jays eventually went off somewhere else, but the crows carried on harrassing my cat for years. They would leave for the winter and come back the next year to make my cat's life miserable whenever they saw it. Over a dead bird of different species.
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