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How to Befriend Crows

fediscience.org

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Re: How to Befriend Crows

#21

Post by prox »

wpietri wrote: post #5

I can vouch for this approach. I lived in the territory of a couple of ravens (close relatives of crows; just as smart and twice as large) and it took me maybe 18 months to build a close relationship. I started out just talking to them and throwing whole peanuts (roasted, unsalted) on the ground while I was doing it. They looked at me warily and did not come close. Later on, the peanuts would disappear, but I was nev…

My amateur theory is that talking makes you less likely to be a predator. You basically say “here I am”, Predators tend to be quiet and sneak up on their prey. I think the tone does indeed help somewhat in my experience.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#22

Post by status200 »

I play bamboo flute and started playing the same song after feeding a crow that would come by my house, now I can just play the song and I will hear the crow respond from far away and then quickly fly over.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#23

Post by phillc73 »

My Mum did this with magpies in Australia. She lives alone in a small rural town and started feeding these two magpies, that seemed to like her garden, with small pieces of meat.

Over the course of a couple of years, the magpie pair even brought their chicks along for a free feed. At one point there were six or seven regular breakfast guests.

One of the original magpies would practically eat our of my mother's hand, the other wasn't quite so bold.

Sadly, they stopped coming at one point. My mum heard from a neighbour that a large number of local birds, including magpies, had been poisoned. I guess that's what happened to them.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#24

Post by 082349872349872 »

pjmlp wrote: post #19
modzu wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

agree, the photos are really good and seem to capture a piece of their individual personalities. i just got a bit of a chuckle at the title, because you can befriend any animal with this one simple trick ;)

Including fellow humans. :)

> “There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. Under no circumstances can the food be omitted.” — JM

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#25

Post by parentheseus »

starkd wrote: post #20

First read this as "how to befriend cows". So, inevitably surprised on visiting the site!

Advice/Accounts on how to befriend crows has been submitted here in the past, but there hasn't been anything regarding cows, unfortunately.

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#26

Post by Reason077 »

I first read the headline as “how to befriend cows”, and that seemed a lot more interesting!

I’m no friend of crows (specifically, magpies), having been attacked by them in the past. They’re also considered a non-native, invasive species in my country.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#27

Post by lisper »

prox wrote: post #21
wpietri wrote: post #5

I can vouch for this approach. I lived in the territory of a couple of ravens (close relatives of crows; just as smart and twice as large) and it took me maybe 18 months to build a close relationship. I started out just talking to them and throwing whole peanuts (roasted, unsalted) on the ground while I was doing it. They looked at me warily and did not come close. Later on, the peanuts would disappear, but I was nev…

My amateur theory is that talking makes you less likely to be a predator. You basically say “here I am”, Predators tend to be quiet and sneak up on their prey. I think the tone does indeed help somewhat in my experience.

Yes, of course. Your tone has to convey not only, "I am not a predator" but also "I do not perceive you as a threat, and so the purpose of my vocalization is not to scare you away because I perceive you as a threat, and if you come close I am likely to try to harm you in order to defend myself."

In nature, the Bayesian prior on an entity that is not a member of your species, or even your tribe, seeking an interaction with you that will ultimately be to your benefit is very, very low.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#28

Post by 082349872349872 »

prox wrote: post #21
wpietri wrote: post #5

I can vouch for this approach. I lived in the territory of a couple of ravens (close relatives of crows; just as smart and twice as large) and it took me maybe 18 months to build a close relationship. I started out just talking to them and throwing whole peanuts (roasted, unsalted) on the ground while I was doing it. They looked at me warily and did not come close. Later on, the peanuts would disappear, but I was nev…

My amateur theory is that talking makes you less likely to be a predator. You basically say “here I am”, Predators tend to be quiet and sneak up on their prey. I think the tone does indeed help somewhat in my experience.

I have an amateur theory that strange wildlife, unlike strange people, are made much more comfortable by avoiding eye contact.

Parent comment would explain this observation: predators gaze upon their prey.

(flipping the arrows around, I've seen the advice to dance tango, not so much with "snappiness" as is popularly supposed, but in a predatory manner: slow stalking, interspersed with rapid pounces)

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#29

Post by zdragnar »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #10

My wife set up a bird feeder on our floor to ceiling glass windows in our living room -- it is a plexiglass module with suction cups. It was nice seeing the birds, but it was really entertaining watching the squirrels trying to get the food. At first she tried to thwart the them, but in no time started recognizing the squirrels as individuals and noticing their personality and behavioral differences, and gave them na…

> They recognized her as the person that fills the feeder

Even songbirds do this with my parents. If they're outside and the feeder is empty, they'll perch on the closest (but not too close) spot and squack until my parents move, then they'll perch a little closer to the feeder and repeat if my parents follow them.

If they're not outside, they'll sit outside the door or even fly into the garage if it is open and chirp and squack until they come out.

It's amusing and more than a little impressive to see since songbirds aren't much associated with intelligence like corvids are.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#30

Post by 082349872349872 »

parentheseus wrote: post #25
starkd wrote: post #20

First read this as "how to befriend cows". So, inevitably surprised on visiting the site!

Advice/Accounts on how to befriend crows has been submitted here in the past, but there hasn't been anything regarding cows, unfortunately. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

IMX cows (they are all domestic, locally) treat anyone with thumbs as a potential source of food.

They like licking hands and under-the-chin or cheek scritches; move slowly and talk, and if they're skeptical try crouching to make yourself smaller. (but don't make mothers suspect you're after their calves!)

Anyone know about bison?

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