Wednesday, February 20, 2019

CROWS FROM THE DECK CAMERA AND INTERESTING FACTS

I was wondering when the crows would turn up.  Did you know that researchers have found them more intelligent than chimpanzees?  I have often heard that they are a very smart bird, but did not know that interesting fact. Crows, so I read, have a very developed forebrain, which is where most intelligence is stored.  In fact, the anatomy of their brain is very similar to humans.

Here are a few more facts about them.  

Their scientific name is Corvus brachyrhynchos.  Try saying that one fast!  

Crows first appeared during the Miocene Period, around 17 million years ago, in Oceania and Australia.

They can be found on every continent except Antartica.

They are omnivores.

A group of crows is called a "murder".  

Crows are monogamous.  This means they have only one mate for their entire life.

They look out for one another.  When a female crow is incubating the eggs, other crows, whether they are her mate or not, will watch for danger and protect the female.

Both the female and the male crow will help take care of the offspring.  The offspring are also known for staying with their parents to take care of the new offspring.

Apart from being very intelligent, crows are social birds as well.  Each murder will develop a specialized dialect so each crow knows what murder it belongs to.

I learned of the above information, and much more at this website.  More interesting facts can be found here.


42 comments:

  1. Hooray, what a good picture of a crow in flight! Yes, crows are VERY smart! Now I wonder if the small birds will come less often, will the crows crowd them out? Just have to wait and see.

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    1. Thanks Ginny, I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw what the deck camera had captured. That's an interesting question and I would think that they could be intimidating to a much smaller bird. Fortunately they haven't been coming that often, only for a few moments. Like my smaller birds I welcome them as I have always enjoyed watching crows.

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  2. I like crows. You would laugh, Denise, if you could see the behaviour of magpies when crows enter the garden. They gather in a crowd to see off the intruders. That's when I see the timid side of a crow, or should I say the sensible side of a crow.

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    1. Me too Valerie, and I wish I could see that. Sensible and smart those crows, ha!

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    1. Uma ótima descrição e obrigado. Desejo-lhe uma boa semana também.

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  4. Hello, Denise! Great post and info on the crows. I enjoyed your crow photos too. Wishing you a happy day!

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    1. Hi Eileen, thank you, happy you enjoyed. You have a great day also.

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  5. i love this post.. lots i did not know, as in the brain part. that first photo is FANTASTIC, i love it!!!! a photographer could not have done better. yay for your cam. i still want one. we have an island not far from us as the crow flies. that is where they go ever evening and come back every moring. the paper said there are many thousands of them on that island, sometimes the lines of them flying home at night is miles long

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    1. Thanks Sandra, I enjoyed learning about them, some I knew, some I did not and yes, yay for the cam. Very interesting about your island of crows. That must be quite a sight.

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  6. We usually have crows that overwinter here. Most of our crows do migrate and come back in early spring.

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    1. Interesting Red, I don't know anything about their migratory patterns. It will be fun to learn.

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  7. I love the crows. I've been trying to talk to ours, but our trio are somewhat aloof!

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  8. I love crows, the children stick around and help the parents raise the next group of siblings. we have crows here year around. I once saw a crow flying over the road with a whole mouse in its mouth that was wiggling. kind of gross but I imagine it was taking the mouse to feed its young.

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    1. I have always enjoyed them Linda and now I know more of their behavior, I like them even more.

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  9. Wow, they ARE something here too! Great shots, D!

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  10. Such interesting facts about crows, Denise. And wonderful photos! I knew they were very smart, but the other facts are amazing. I always think of the smart crow in The Secret Garden when I see them. ♥

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    1. Thank you Martha Ellen, I'll have to read the Secret Garden again.

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  11. Hi Denise,
    Super post with excellent images and information on the Crow.
    We had a programme on the Crow and some of the tests they were set and managed to work out were unbelievable, a very clever bird.
    All the best, John

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    1. Hi John, thank you. I would have liked to have seen that program. All the best to you too.

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  12. Very interesting Denise, did not know of their intelligence!

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    1. Hi Christine, I had heard that they were a clever bird and was happy to learn more about them.

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  13. Auburn, NY has a "Murder" of Crows (between 50 and 70 thousand) descend on Fort Hill Cemetery and Logan monument, and then roost along the Auburn Prison walls.

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    1. Wow, that's quite an amazing number. I would love to see that sight. Thanks for letting me know Doug.

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    1. They are amazingly so aren't they? Thanks William!

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  15. While crows are nit one of my favorite birds, Denise, this post was interesting and enlightning. Thanks for teaching me a lot about crows.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Dorothy and you are very welcome.

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  16. so interesting, figures they are the smart ones. and they just don't look real. wonderful captures!!

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  17. Great info ... I knew some but not all of that. They are wonderful birds. . And it is sad that so many people think of them as boring or pests.

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    1. Hi Sallie, you and I think alike. I have always enjoyed them ever since I was a little girl.

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  18. Crows really are fascinating creatures. We had lots of them at our last home but not so many here in northeastern Washington. I think Ravens are more common here.

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    1. I agree Ellen and I remember the Ravens when traveling out west. I soon learned the difference when I kept calling them crows :) People were very helpful in educating me and I am always grateful when I can learn.

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  19. Crows were featured on a tv programme the other evening. It showed crows dropping mussel sea shells from a great height in order to crack them open to get at the food. Some of the shells were dropped in the road and cars went over them and squashed them.
    The crows would then fly down to get the food.

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  20. They are indeed supremely intelligent and wonderful creatures in so many respects, yet we continue to persecute them mercilessly in many parts of the world, including here in North America in agricultural communities.

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    1. Well, I for one love them and they are always welcome. They seem to come at certain times of the day when all the other birds have already been feeding and have left.

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