6 ms·

I have a personal experience story regarding crows. This is completely anecdotal of course but, to me, compelling. I live on an island near Seattle, very quiet

I have a personal experience story regarding crows. This is completely anecdotal of course but, to me, compelling. I live on an island near Seattle, very quiet and rural. We have a lot of wild life. One morning I was woke by persistent crowing by... well crows. Black Crows (not the band). Having been awoke from wonderful REM sleep I was understandably annoyed. So I went out to the street in front of my house and grabbed a handful of pebbles to throw at these poor little creatures. I went out on my upper deck and these crows seemed very upset and were circling in a crazy pattern. I looked around, realizing that something was making them crazy, and they were making me crazy. Then I saw, I am not completely sure if it was a racoon or a badger but it was a small animal of some sort that was edging his way out on the limb of a tree where what appeared to be perhaps the little home of the crows and there babies or eggs or something. So... in my groggy state, I reasoned that if I were to; instead of tossing my pebbles at the crows, I were to toss them at whatever that thing was, then the crows would shut up and let me go back to sleep. I admit, not the most altruistic of motives but, I had a goal. So I tossed my pebbles at this thing (I am an engineer not a biologist so excuse my ignorance) but the little cat like creature scampered off and left the crows little home in the tree next to my house, alone. I am completely fine with having crows as neighbors as long as they do not wake me at pre-dawn hours. The very interesting thing is that since then, it really seems like they have become my little friends. Like little neighbors. OK, I could be a kook, if this had not happened I would think I was a Kook. But when I see them they bob their head. I crow back at them. They were sitting on the ledge of my roof, and I went out on my deck and they scared me and I screamed. Then I waved at them like... OK it is you. Hi. They were leaving some sort of bone fragments on my upper deck like a gift of some sort. I didn't know what to do, so I would pick it up and throw it in the trash. But it kept happening. So I eventually would leave it out there and just waive at them. I have no idea if we are actually communicating but.. they seem highly intelligent to me.

voidhorse 6y ago
Not kooky at all, I think that's eminently plausible. Surely there must have been similar "fetch" style interactions between humans and wild dogs before we tamed them? It's great that you have a relationship with these crows! Surprise connections with the wild are one of those rare, special things in life that have deep power.
hnick 6y ago
Magpies (unrelated to European magpies) are similar in Australia. There are stories of multi-generational respect (that is, the parents teach the next generation not to swoop and annoy the nice human). Wikipedia says they can remember up to 100 people. Here are a few nice stories: https://theconversation.com/magpies-can-form-friendships-with-people-heres-how-83950 https://theconversation.com/magpies-can-form-friendships-wit...
- liability 6y ago
  > Wikipedia says they can remember up to 100 people. Damn, that might be more than I can.
- phillc73 6y ago
  My mother feeds the local magpies, who turn up every morning for their free feed. One can argue about whether this is environmentally sound, but my mother lives alone and she enjoys the connection. She has them literally eating out of her hand. This week she sent me a photo of a young juvenile magpie which had arrived for the first time, clearly brought along by the parents to learn the ropes.
  - hnick 6y ago
    I know an older lady who does this too, she just grabs beef mince from the fridge and feeds them every day. That probably isn't too harmful for them, at least it's not bread.
    - barbs 6y ago
      My grandma does the same thing. She'll come out and withold the food until it sings
- ggm 6y ago
  Magpies and Currawongs hold "court" and shun members who don't conform to local rules. And, administer punishment in exemplary fashion in front of the community. https://www.booktopia.com.au/australian-magpie-2nd-edition-gisela-kaplan/book/9781486307241.html https://www.booktopia.com.au/australian-magpie-2nd-edition-g...
Nihilisius 6y ago
It seems they have the capacity for the principle of reciprocity, amazing!
disparate_dan 6y ago
I have a woodworking setup in my garage and in summer I work with the doors open. The local crows know me and come by in small groups and I’ll throw a few peanuts for them. One time recently, my shop vac’s 20-foot hose got clogged so I took it out into the back yard to unclog with a broom pole. Took me a while, and I had to shake it vigorously quite a bit before I was done. When I looked up there were more than a dozen crows quietly perched in the tree above me, watching closely. I realize that to them it might have looked like I was fighting a huge snake to the death! Afterwards I’m sure they all took turns to come check on me (or maybe get more peanuts, but they were definitely more attentive that day).
sunnyP 6y ago
It happens quite often around me too. They like to heckle a fox. Crows are the neighborhood predator alarm.
- zw123456 6y ago
  https://www.bing.com/search?q=black+crowes+lyrics&qs=SS&pq=black+crowes+lyri&sc=6-17&cvid=C45622F803F146088C9CA7A34180B0A8&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&ghc=1 https://www.bing.com/search?q=black+crowes+lyrics&qs=SS&pq=b...
fossuser 6y ago
There are other cases of them bringing shiny rocks and glass to humans as gifts. I think this is well established.
- monkeybutton 6y ago
  Your comment reminded me of another article about crows. It sounds like gifting is a known phenomenon but isn't that well established or researched. https://www.audubon.org/news/did-crows-actually-make-these-gifts-human-who-feeds-them https://www.audubon.org/news/did-crows-actually-make-these-g...
  - lemmonii 6y ago
    Is there a possibility of human-crow co-evolution? I really can't think of any other reason the crow would give gifts.
    - jacobush 6y ago
      There is an idea about Crow-Wolf co-evolution. Humans could take the Wolf place quite easily IMHO.
    - fossuser 6y ago
      Not sure this is required? If crows are social and they have their own theory of mind it’s not a huge leap to suspect they’d make friends or try and give friends what they think are valuable gifts and that wouldn’t need to be limited to just other crows.
    - r721 6y ago
      There was a news story about dolphins bringing gifts as well: https://7news.com.au/news/wildlife/dolphins-bring-gifts-from-sea-in-apparent-response-to-lack-of-human-interaction-c-1049565 https://7news.com.au/news/wildlife/dolphins-bring-gifts-from...
    - b0rsuk 6y ago
      According to a book I read, Cheyennes divide birds into three groups: plain, great, and sacred. To my great amusement they count magpies into the sacred ones. They like them because they live close to humans, talk, and announce visitors.
liveoneggs 6y ago
crows and other birds are very good at recognizing faces so they absolutely know it's you
- UI_at_80x24 6y ago
  What makes Corvids truly fascinating, is that their offspring will be taught to recognize them too.
  - inglor_cz 6y ago
    Isn't it fascinating that even a different species must have some expression for "stay away from that Karen"?
    - mdpye 6y ago
      I'll charitably assume that you're missing a comma and the crow-kid is called Karen. And if you aren't, I'll ask you to take your mysogynist slurs elsewhere.
- zw123456 6y ago
  I do feel like they are my little buddies now. When ever I seem them I make a crowing sound. I think maybe they think I am a crazy bird. They are probably right. But, I weirdly feel like they are my friends. Hahaha.
  - chillacy 6y ago
    Almost sounds like making offerings to a friendly god. How curious!
    - zw123456 6y ago
      So am I am the god then ? hahaha Well, from a "devout" atheist, you tickled my funny bone :)
jaxx75 6y ago
Black Crows, REM, Kooks... I really kept reading this assuming it was a troll post, but still entertained by the anecdote!
- zw123456 6y ago
  I always love when reality and music collide in strange ways. It always drives my thinking into directions I don't expect.
  - vbsteven 6y ago
    I'm just glad he used Rocks instead of a Metal Crowbar as a Tool to fight off the badger
    - dkdbejwi383 6y ago
      I thought it was a badge, but then realised it had spikes. Unfortunately the unwanted guest in my Porcupine Tree fought back, and being that this happened on the 14th of February is how I ended up calling this My Bloody Valentine.
      - vbsteven 6y ago
        When all else fails, there is always a Bullet for My Valentine, luckily it was February, if it was Novembers Doom you would have been in for a Life of Agony with the only way out being a Five Finger Death Punch inside A Perfect Circle. That would have been the Story Of The Year.
        mikeshank 6y ago
        S L A Y E R!
hexbinencoded 6y ago
Yep. You can make friends with crows, and they will remember you for a very long time. If you get shiny things, then you're the crow's meow. Bones maybe just "meh." https://youtu.be/dg3ApNJct6Q https://youtu.be/dg3ApNJct6Q https://youtu.be/0fiAoqwsc9g https://youtu.be/0fiAoqwsc9g https://youtu.be/HWXe7Js6GnI https://youtu.be/HWXe7Js6GnI https://youtu.be/VOmRNeYZVfE https://youtu.be/VOmRNeYZVfE Furthermore, crows can be sneaky. A murder of them hanging out behind my mechanic's goaded the dork of the group into stealing a bag sunflower seeds on top of a rolling toolbox 30 ft / 10 m on the other side of the shop from the roll-up doors. It had to figure-out how to sneak-in, hop up on the toolbox, and sneak-out without being detected like a bloody ninja. The group of them had a sunflower seed party in the alley and one mechanic wondered where his snack went to. And there were 3 people in the shop at the time! xD
- Oricle 6y ago
  You can pigeons!
- yellowapple 6y ago
  Not only will those crows remember you, but so will other crows that have never seen you before. There's growing evidence that crows are capable of social learning, teaching things to other crows in the murder (including subsequent generations). I strongly suspect that one of these days we're going to discover that crows and their relatives are not only capable of using language, but already are speaking languages that we just haven't deciphered yet.
  - orestarod 6y ago
    Instead of a full fledged language, they may have a more restricted language to communicate that "that" human is friendly - so the friendly crows you have never seen before may have seen you first, together with your buddy, and been informed of your friendliness. To recognise you as friend without ever meeting you before needs a lot more complex language.
    - saurik 6y ago
mcv 6y ago
Your life would probably look very different if you'd thrown those pebbles at the crows like you originally intended. Crows can carry grudges for a very long time.
lumberingjack 6y ago
Hunting them you get just about the same type of stories. Sometimes they realize a hunter has set a trap in the deep forest and they will lead their enemies to the trap. I seen them use tools, and talk to warn others or say "hey get over here!"
Adferdfqwer 6y ago
Ok

voidhorse 6y ago

Not kooky at all, I think that's eminently plausible. Surely there must have been similar "fetch" style interactions between humans and wild dogs before we tamed them? It's great that you have a relationship with these crows! Surprise connections with the wild are one of those rare, special things in life that have deep power.

hnick 6y ago

Magpies (unrelated to European magpies) are similar in Australia. There are stories of multi-generational respect (that is, the parents teach the next generation not to swoop and annoy the nice human). Wikipedia says they can remember up to 100 people. Here are a few nice stories: https://theconversation.com/magpies-can-form-friendships-with-people-heres-how-83950 https://theconversation.com/magpies-can-form-friendships-wit...

liability 6y ago
> Wikipedia says they can remember up to 100 people. Damn, that might be more than I can.
phillc73 6y ago
My mother feeds the local magpies, who turn up every morning for their free feed. One can argue about whether this is environmentally sound, but my mother lives alone and she enjoys the connection. She has them literally eating out of her hand. This week she sent me a photo of a young juvenile magpie which had arrived for the first time, clearly brought along by the parents to learn the ropes.
- hnick 6y ago
  I know an older lady who does this too, she just grabs beef mince from the fridge and feeds them every day. That probably isn't too harmful for them, at least it's not bread.
  - barbs 6y ago
    My grandma does the same thing. She'll come out and withold the food until it sings
ggm 6y ago
Magpies and Currawongs hold "court" and shun members who don't conform to local rules. And, administer punishment in exemplary fashion in front of the community. https://www.booktopia.com.au/australian-magpie-2nd-edition-gisela-kaplan/book/9781486307241.html https://www.booktopia.com.au/australian-magpie-2nd-edition-g...

Nihilisius 6y ago

It seems they have the capacity for the principle of reciprocity, amazing!

disparate_dan 6y ago

I have a woodworking setup in my garage and in summer I work with the doors open. The local crows know me and come by in small groups and I’ll throw a few peanuts for them. One time recently, my shop vac’s 20-foot hose got clogged so I took it out into the back yard to unclog with a broom pole. Took me a while, and I had to shake it vigorously quite a bit before I was done. When I looked up there were more than a dozen crows quietly perched in the tree above me, watching closely. I realize that to them it might have looked like I was fighting a huge snake to the death! Afterwards I’m sure they all took turns to come check on me (or maybe get more peanuts, but they were definitely more attentive that day).

sunnyP 6y ago

It happens quite often around me too. They like to heckle a fox. Crows are the neighborhood predator alarm.

zw123456 6y ago
https://www.bing.com/search?q=black+crowes+lyrics&qs=SS&pq=black+crowes+lyri&sc=6-17&cvid=C45622F803F146088C9CA7A34180B0A8&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&ghc=1 https://www.bing.com/search?q=black+crowes+lyrics&qs=SS&pq=b...

fossuser 6y ago

There are other cases of them bringing shiny rocks and glass to humans as gifts. I think this is well established.

monkeybutton 6y ago
Your comment reminded me of another article about crows. It sounds like gifting is a known phenomenon but isn't that well established or researched. https://www.audubon.org/news/did-crows-actually-make-these-gifts-human-who-feeds-them https://www.audubon.org/news/did-crows-actually-make-these-g...
- lemmonii 6y ago
  Is there a possibility of human-crow co-evolution? I really can't think of any other reason the crow would give gifts.
  - jacobush 6y ago
    There is an idea about Crow-Wolf co-evolution. Humans could take the Wolf place quite easily IMHO.
  - fossuser 6y ago
    Not sure this is required? If crows are social and they have their own theory of mind it’s not a huge leap to suspect they’d make friends or try and give friends what they think are valuable gifts and that wouldn’t need to be limited to just other crows.
  - r721 6y ago
    There was a news story about dolphins bringing gifts as well: https://7news.com.au/news/wildlife/dolphins-bring-gifts-from-sea-in-apparent-response-to-lack-of-human-interaction-c-1049565 https://7news.com.au/news/wildlife/dolphins-bring-gifts-from...
  - b0rsuk 6y ago
    According to a book I read, Cheyennes divide birds into three groups: plain, great, and sacred. To my great amusement they count magpies into the sacred ones. They like them because they live close to humans, talk, and announce visitors.

liveoneggs 6y ago

crows and other birds are very good at recognizing faces so they absolutely know it's you

UI_at_80x24 6y ago
What makes Corvids truly fascinating, is that their offspring will be taught to recognize them too.
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  Isn't it fascinating that even a different species must have some expression for "stay away from that Karen"?
  - mdpye 6y ago
    I'll charitably assume that you're missing a comma and the crow-kid is called Karen. And if you aren't, I'll ask you to take your mysogynist slurs elsewhere.
zw123456 6y ago
I do feel like they are my little buddies now. When ever I seem them I make a crowing sound. I think maybe they think I am a crazy bird. They are probably right. But, I weirdly feel like they are my friends. Hahaha.
- chillacy 6y ago
  Almost sounds like making offerings to a friendly god. How curious!
  - zw123456 6y ago
    So am I am the god then ? hahaha Well, from a "devout" atheist, you tickled my funny bone :)

jaxx75 6y ago

Black Crows, REM, Kooks... I really kept reading this assuming it was a troll post, but still entertained by the anecdote!

zw123456 6y ago
I always love when reality and music collide in strange ways. It always drives my thinking into directions I don't expect.
- vbsteven 6y ago
  I'm just glad he used Rocks instead of a Metal Crowbar as a Tool to fight off the badger
  - dkdbejwi383 6y ago
    I thought it was a badge, but then realised it had spikes. Unfortunately the unwanted guest in my Porcupine Tree fought back, and being that this happened on the 14th of February is how I ended up calling this My Bloody Valentine.
    - vbsteven 6y ago
      When all else fails, there is always a Bullet for My Valentine, luckily it was February, if it was Novembers Doom you would have been in for a Life of Agony with the only way out being a Five Finger Death Punch inside A Perfect Circle. That would have been the Story Of The Year.
      - mikeshank 6y ago
        S L A Y E R!

hexbinencoded 6y ago

Yep. You can make friends with crows, and they will remember you for a very long time. If you get shiny things, then you're the crow's meow. Bones maybe just "meh." https://youtu.be/dg3ApNJct6Q https://youtu.be/dg3ApNJct6Q https://youtu.be/0fiAoqwsc9g https://youtu.be/0fiAoqwsc9g https://youtu.be/HWXe7Js6GnI https://youtu.be/HWXe7Js6GnI https://youtu.be/VOmRNeYZVfE https://youtu.be/VOmRNeYZVfE Furthermore, crows can be sneaky. A murder of them hanging out behind my mechanic's goaded the dork of the group into stealing a bag sunflower seeds on top of a rolling toolbox 30 ft / 10 m on the other side of the shop from the roll-up doors. It had to figure-out how to sneak-in, hop up on the toolbox, and sneak-out without being detected like a bloody ninja. The group of them had a sunflower seed party in the alley and one mechanic wondered where his snack went to. And there were 3 people in the shop at the time! xD

Oricle 6y ago
You can pigeons!
yellowapple 6y ago
Not only will those crows remember you, but so will other crows that have never seen you before. There's growing evidence that crows are capable of social learning, teaching things to other crows in the murder (including subsequent generations). I strongly suspect that one of these days we're going to discover that crows and their relatives are not only capable of using language, but already are speaking languages that we just haven't deciphered yet.
- orestarod 6y ago
  Instead of a full fledged language, they may have a more restricted language to communicate that "that" human is friendly - so the friendly crows you have never seen before may have seen you first, together with your buddy, and been informed of your friendliness. To recognise you as friend without ever meeting you before needs a lot more complex language.
  - saurik 6y ago

mcv 6y ago

Your life would probably look very different if you'd thrown those pebbles at the crows like you originally intended. Crows can carry grudges for a very long time.

lumberingjack 6y ago

Hunting them you get just about the same type of stories. Sometimes they realize a hunter has set a trap in the deep forest and they will lead their enemies to the trap. I seen them use tools, and talk to warn others or say "hey get over here!"

Adferdfqwer 6y ago