Our lesser known feathered friend

Our Lesser Known Feathered Friend

We might think we know all about crows, they are the most common birds found in the cities and the most seen and heard, they are so entwined in our culture that they play an important part in religious ceremonies in some sections of the society , there are so many of them near cities that they are taken for granted and are not given a second glance ,but if one was to stop and observe these birds you will realize that they not so bird brained after all.

Crows are amongst the most intelligent of birds and research has shown its intelligence can be equal to those of the Great Apes. Crows are known to use tools to get food from places that they cannot reach. The wood pecker for example has a long and powerful beak to reach insects which are well hidden in the barks of trees, the crow does not have that luxury, so it uses a stick of the appropriate length to pry insects and grubs out of tight spots in the tree’s bark. Crows are not born with these skills, they observe and learn these from much older and experienced crows, younger crows can been seen with their older teachers flying around learning new skills and mind mapping the best sources of food in and around its environment, this is highly important for them as it’s the only way that they can learn to survive.

Now for a bird housing that much of intelligence it needs a large brain, and the brain consumes a lot of energy so it makes perfect evolutionary sense to have versatile and adaptive features so that it can make the most of its environment. Its beak and wing shape are its unique attributes, they don’t allow the crow to specialize in a particular way of life but are great general features that allow it to do everything. The humming bird for example has a long and narrow beak perfect for sucking nectar from flowers, an Eagle has a heavy and downward pointing beak to pluck meat from bone, a Sparrow has a hard, short beak to crack nuts to get the high protein seed. The crow has a little bit of them all, it can fly through low braches and perform acrobatic maneuvers and at the same time efficiently glide high in the sky on thermals rising up from the ground, it can be a voracious predator, hunting squirrels, rats and other small birds but it also forages on trees and on the ground for seeds, worms, and insects. It’s because of this combination of intelligence and adaptability it has been able to successfully conquer the most treacherous of environments our Cities!

Personal Observations.

The under feathers of crows are actually white, this can be seen when they preen themselves or when they get wet in the rain, these black and white feathers are only present on the body and shoulders but not on the wings.

Crows are experts at finding water and making the most of it, be it washing themselves or regurgitating swallowed food and washing it before swallowing it once again.

They have amazing memory and can recognize individual humans, they also have fixed everyday routines. If you make it a habit to feed crows at a particular time and outside the house, make sure you keep doing it or else there will be a huge racket outside, like hungry customers waiting in a restaurant ,this will not seize until you feed them something.

The crow has many different kinds of calls and they differ from area to area, city to city, forest to urban areas. Even the temperament of certain murder of crows differ from others, it depends on their social ranking which is relative to other rival groups.

Sripad Sridhar