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How to Befriend Crows

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Re: How to Befriend Crows

#181

Post by julian_sark »

082349872349872 wrote: post #28
prox wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

I have read this somewhere, not sure where, but by someone very much in touch with nature. He called it the "lost car keys" approach. Always approach animals as if looking for your car keys on the ground: avoiding eye contact, and not in a straight line.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#182

Post by 082349872349872 »

polishdude20 wrote: post #125
082349872349872 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Bayesian prior ... is very, very low. Felis Catus: OK, stubclaws, listen up. You're going to toil the fields and by the sweat of your brow fill up a barn to attract my mice. Got that? Agriculture, Architecture, the works? Good. I'd explain to you how to make laser pointers for chasing, but I doubt you'd understand ... your kind always has to work things out for themselves, anyway. Now go forth and do your best…

Is this from a book?

Sorry, nope. Had one of my replies called a "nonsensical answer produced by an AI" in a different thread, so I done did my best to outpace the machine with that one.

  When 082... was jus' a little baby, sittin' on their papa's knee
  Well they picked up a keyboard and a little CRT
  Said keyboard gon' be the death of me, lord, lord
  Keyboard gon' be the death of me
https://youtu.be/lY_s42QvOTs?t=50

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#184

Post by ggm »

justinhj wrote: post #144
allenbrunson wrote: post #4

i kind of love the fact that posting fediverse links on hacker news is coming to be almost as common as posting twitter links. and i already read this, because one of the mastodon accounts i follow boosted this into my timeline. all hail decentralized social media!

I would much prefer a Twitter link. I can more easily share it with people and it’s a much more pleasant user experience.

I don't understand this: I clicked on the link and saw the thread in my browser. What's the barrier? It's no different to sharing a link to a forum or mailing list archive really

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#185

Post by hexatin »

fsckboy wrote: post #178
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…

> 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) Here's the thing. You're suggesting a raven is as intelligent as a crow. Are they in the same family? Yes, Corvus . But scientists who study crows, will tell say, specifically, crows are smarter than ravens. But it would be okay for either of us to just admit we're wrong, you kn…

Haha, I haven’t seen a callback to Unidan in a long while — I still think about this copypasta whenever I see people talking about crows online.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#186

Post by ggm »

acyou wrote: post #149

Don't feed the wildlife!! Better to let crows be crows. They are wild animals and not domesticated, nor is there a great reason that they should be domesticated in any way. They along with the seagulls and starlings are already clearing out the rest of the other native species of birds, do they really need more help? Moreover, isn't it incredibly self centric to do this sort of bird feeding thing without any regard f…

Bird scientists differ on the relative risk and benefits of feeding. Darryl Jones who is emeritus Griffith uni I think, has written on this in the Australian urban context: they don't get dependent, it is marginal benefit, they rear bigger clutches, pick food wisely. Not "never feed"

https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Feeding_the_Birds_at...

Darryl on research gate:

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Darryl...

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#187

Post by acyou »

ggm wrote: post #186
acyou wrote: post #149

Don't feed the wildlife!! Better to let crows be crows. They are wild animals and not domesticated, nor is there a great reason that they should be domesticated in any way. They along with the seagulls and starlings are already clearing out the rest of the other native species of birds, do they really need more help? Moreover, isn't it incredibly self centric to do this sort of bird feeding thing without any regard f…

Bird scientists differ on the relative risk and benefits of feeding. Darryl Jones who is emeritus Griffith uni I think, has written on this in the Australian urban context: they don't get dependent, it is marginal benefit, they rear bigger clutches, pick food wisely. Not "never feed" https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Feeding_the_Birds_at... Darryl on research gate: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contri…

He's selling his book:

"Feeding the Birds at Your Table is designed to provide detailed, comprehensive advice and suggestions for people wishing to feed wild birds in Australia from their own backyards and balconies."

Seems like he has a vested interest in selling copies of his book.

Australians of all people should know better than to claim to understand the ramifications of human intervention on complex natural systems. See: introduction of cane toads to Australia.

Backyard wildlife feeding is extremely intrusive in all cases, it should be and is blanket banned in many places.

People with feeders also have a vested interest in convincing themselves that it's OK.

"I'm making friends with the bird", yes you are, it's a profoundly toxic relationship.

If you can claim to understand the full and long-range ramifications of your intervention in a natural system, who thinks they are so smart?

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#188

Post by ggm »

acyou wrote: post #187
ggm wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bird scientists differ on the relative risk and benefits of feeding. Darryl Jones who is emeritus Griffith uni I think, has written on this in the Australian urban context: they don't get dependent, it is marginal benefit, they rear bigger clutches, pick food wisely. Not "never feed" https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Feeding_the_Birds_at... Darryl on research gate: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contri…

He's selling his book: "Feeding the Birds at Your Table is designed to provide detailed, comprehensive advice and suggestions for people wishing to feed wild birds in Australia from their own backyards and balconies." Seems like he has a vested interest in selling copies of his book. Australians of all people should know better than to claim to understand the ramifications of human intervention on complex natural sys…

Yes, he is. But he is also legitimately researching bird ecology in the inner city, and knows what he's talking about.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#189

Post by janlaureys »

vips7L wrote: post #133
gonehome wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a pet parrot you can get a more personal glimpse of their intelligence. We have a cockatiel and it’s interesting to get to know another intelligent species from a different branch of the tree.

You will also get a more personal glimpse at their tyranny. I type this as my conure is having a fit because I wouldn’t share any French fries with him.

I just spat out my tea reading this comment.

Re: How to Befriend Crows

#190

Post by maxnoe »

On La Palma, there is a pair of ravens living up in the mountain near the observatory.

They are incredibly smart and very tame. They will happily land on your shoulder while you try to eat your lunch and pick away into your lunch box.

They will do loopings above groups of tourists, land, beg for food, and when they receive food, do some more fly-bys and loopings.

They bury food in the ground and I bet they find all of it later.

I am pretty sure they recognize people, as they came straight for me and my wife when we were hiking and not to the other people around...

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