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Long time ago I was amusing myself during coffee breaks by throwing some dry biscuits to the crows around the building. I enjoyed watching how clever they were,

Long time ago I was amusing myself during coffee breaks by throwing some dry biscuits to the crows around the building. I enjoyed watching how clever they were, sometimes they dipped the biscuit first into a pot that had collected some water to make it softer. Sometimes there were more crows than I had biscuits and after two crows fought over the last biscuit for a while, the loser came to me seemingly asking for one more. I didn't have any, so I just ignored it, but I distinctly remember the feeling that the crow was somehow upset with me. About a week later I was going for lunch on the same campus and out of nowhere I felt a big hit on my head, my cap even fell down. Looking up I saw that a crow was above me, so it must have just hit me (or was trying to take my cap off). Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I like to think it was the same crow still angry with me. Never before or after was I touched by a crow in any way.

rqtwteye 2y ago
I used to have an office with a view on a group of crows nesting in tree. They were super entertaining. One day I watched a pair of them build a nest. Two other views watched then carrying in branches. When the two had left, they walked over and took the branches for their own nest. After a day the first couple realized what’s going on and went out in shifts. They also liked to poop on certain people but not on others.
- card_zero 2y ago
  Pigeons do that too (stick theft). Sticks are a valuable resource, though some are evidently worth more than others. Bird brains are probably tuned for rapid stick assessment.
  - aithrowawaycomm 2y ago
    > Bird brains are probably tuned for rapid stick assessment. I don’t think this is true, birds use all sorts of things to make their nests, including improvising with human objects if there are no sticks. Many don’t use sticks at all (e.g. glueing grass and leaves together with mud). Crows and pigeons in particular are probably smart enough to recognize a “good stick” as a valuable structural material based on physical principles, and can easily transfer that understanding to other “sticks” made of metal, plastic, etc. Note that for crows the assessment is not “rapid”, they play with sticks before deciding to accept or reject them: https://corvidresearch.blog/2016/03/29/everything-you-want-to-know-about-crow-nests/ https://corvidresearch.blog/2016/03/29/everything-you-want-t...
    - card_zero 2y ago
      Well, alright. They see things in sticks that I don't, is all. Nesting pigeons generally didn't prefer my suggested sticks when I tried providing some: probably too neat, lacking structural potential, since they have to be hooked and wedged and woven together.

rqtwteye 2y ago

I used to have an office with a view on a group of crows nesting in tree. They were super entertaining. One day I watched a pair of them build a nest. Two other views watched then carrying in branches. When the two had left, they walked over and took the branches for their own nest. After a day the first couple realized what’s going on and went out in shifts. They also liked to poop on certain people but not on others.

card_zero 2y ago
Pigeons do that too (stick theft). Sticks are a valuable resource, though some are evidently worth more than others. Bird brains are probably tuned for rapid stick assessment.
- aithrowawaycomm 2y ago
  > Bird brains are probably tuned for rapid stick assessment. I don’t think this is true, birds use all sorts of things to make their nests, including improvising with human objects if there are no sticks. Many don’t use sticks at all (e.g. glueing grass and leaves together with mud). Crows and pigeons in particular are probably smart enough to recognize a “good stick” as a valuable structural material based on physical principles, and can easily transfer that understanding to other “sticks” made of metal, plastic, etc. Note that for crows the assessment is not “rapid”, they play with sticks before deciding to accept or reject them: https://corvidresearch.blog/2016/03/29/everything-you-want-to-know-about-crow-nests/ https://corvidresearch.blog/2016/03/29/everything-you-want-t...
  - card_zero 2y ago
    Well, alright. They see things in sticks that I don't, is all. Nesting pigeons generally didn't prefer my suggested sticks when I tried providing some: probably too neat, lacking structural potential, since they have to be hooked and wedged and woven together.