I’ve always wanted a crow friend, and this summer I’ve been making an effort. Each morning I put a handful of dog kibble on a paper plate and set it out on our back-patio table. I also ball up a piece of aluminum foil to add to the plate for decoration, although whether crows and other corvids (birds of the family Corvidae) actually like shiny objects, a common belief, remains to be proven. Then, I do my best rendition of a crow call (something between a caw and a honk, to my ear) to alert them to breakfast service, watching the skies for takers.
Our neighborhood has a resident flock of them—“murder” seems a little dramatic, though I suppose that’s the official, if antiquated, term—and they make themselves known daily. They start out calling from a distance mid-morning, moving closer via a long line of tulip poplars, before swooping down to see what’s what on the ground, chattering amicably (I think) all the while.
Two in particular have discovered my breakfast spot, and if I time it right, I’ll see them stopping by for a few bites most days. The kibble eaters fend off the grackles that have also discovered the food, and each has its fill in one go before heading off for the day. They don’t seem interested in the foil ball, although it’s possible it attracted their attention initially. Who can say. (The crows could, I suppose: They’re impressive mimics of human speech! Another reason I want to befriend one.)
Not just because they can talk, crows and their ilk, including ravens and magpies, are known to be super intelligent. From a long-term study done at the University of Washington in the 2000s, we know they recognize human faces and even remember for years the faces of those who treated them badly early on. The results were hard to dismiss: While banding birds for research, students wore a particular rubber mask that the birds learned to associate with the irritation of being caught. For years after, the banded birds would punish people in the “bad guy” mask, forming small mobs and loudly scolding, and ignore people wearing other kinds of masks. Remarkably, the offspring of those original birds learned to dislike the same masked face and would join their elders in shaming the wearer.
Back in my own yard, my (unmasked) presence on the back steps hasn’t deterred the crows from their meal. But if I try approaching their perch or if they spy me sitting closer than usual, they get outta Dodge. I keep hoping they’ll start associating my face with the platter of snacks, and that eventually I’ll be able to hang out among them, Jane Goodall style, maybe even feeding them from my hand.
It would be a special thrill if they brought me a shiny or colorful gift—there are many reports of crows leaving small items, from pebbles to hair ties to gum wrappers, where a person has fed them. For now, I just enjoy the antics of my future friends from afar, having not yet earned a seat at their table.
I hate crows. We had a murder of them where I use to live. They would try and roost in my trees, and make all kind of racket for hours. I threw sticks at them to get them to move on. Sometimes they perch on my bedroom porch again cawing early in the morning. Worse they harassed the owls and hawks in the yard. The hawks and owls tried to ignore them, but eventually they would just leave. Crows are just jerks.
One of my neighbors got crosswise with the local crows too. I don’t know what he did to annoy them but they would sit in the trees outside his front door and whenever he came out, they yell at him. He finally stopped coming out when they were there and eventually they went away.
I have a friend who feeds his local crows peanuts in the shell and they follow him, sometimes meeting him on his way home from work, sometimes bringing crow friends with them. I think one of them brought him something in exchange once, but I don’t remember what it was.
I spent last summer leaving shelled peanuts out to make some crow friends. The squirrels were very pleased with my snacks. ♀️
Did the crows get any peanuts at all, Jill?
Not that I saw!
I will try again sometime with a new strategy.
There’s something about interacting with especially smart animals…I’d welcome any indication that they appreciate me! Thanks to all for sharing.