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I like the fact that they are so ... observant. A specific crow (I recognize him due to the missing feathers around his collar) will spend a while sitting on a
by mlmonkey 1mo ago
I like the fact that they are so ... observant. A specific crow (I recognize him due to the missing feathers around his collar) will spend a while sitting on a tree outside my window, observing me for no reason. I do feed them generally by leaving peanuts in a specific area in the backyard early in the morning, and I'm sure this one partakes in the feast; but I have never rewarded his presence in any form, and yet there he is, in the middle of the day, just hanging out on the branch of the leafless tree, just sitting there, observing me. If I turn around and make eye contact, he often flies away. But I can see him in the reflection on my ipad's screen, and if I don't turn around and make eye contact, he will stay there for a while.
It is fun interacting with "smart" creatures who have their own personalities and active social lives.
- dinfinity 1mo agoIsn't he just checking/waiting for the food to come out? If he's the first to it, he gets the best haul.
- mlmonkey 1mo agoThe food comes out early in the morning (8AM). This guy I often find watching me around noon. So the food has long been consumed and forgotten.
- devilbunny 1mo agoAs a natural night owl who works at a job that starts at 6:30, I wish I could still całl 8 “early”.
- spike021 1mo agosounds like my dog. he knows when to sit and stare at me to wait for his usual food routine and, occasionally, treats. once he realizes that no it isn't time for either, he goes away.
- 9dev 1mo agoMine will just sit somewhere else where he thinks I surely must see him now, and lick his lips when I look at him just to make a point. Sometimes I wonder if he’s considering hitting me with his bowl because I’m obviously too stupid to understand his super obvious question
- oddsockmachine 1mo agoI was told (by my partner, who works with birds in many capacities) that they consider a "direct" or head-on look to be something of a threat, as a predator would do. Consider looking at them sideways, with only one eye -as they would to each other- and see if it makes a difference.
- veunes 1mo agoThat would explain why they sometimes seem perfectly relaxed until you look directly at them
- gwerbin 1mo agoI did this with the rabbits in my yard. They would always freeze and then bolt when I looked right at them. So I started getting closer and closer to them without making eye contact, and then they started to get much more comfortable around me and my family. Now they don't tense up and run away whenever I happen to get near, which I think is nice, keeps them less stressed out while they destroy all of my native wildlfower seedlings.
- soupspaces 1mo agoSomething as simple as stepping on a twig, brushing on grass, the crumpling of a plastic or some kinds of clothing can be enough. It makes sense, since their bodies are much more fragile and distance is easy. Their ears are almost like ours internally, with different structure.
- veunes 1mo agoThe iPad reflection trick is hilarious. You are basically observing him observing you while carefully pretending not to observe him.
- unsupp0rted 1mo agoWhat else is he gonna do? Our ancestors spent a lot of time around observing things because the days are long and there’s no WiFi.