4 Responses to “5 Things You Didn’t Know About Crows!”

  1. 8 Feb 2026 22:46
    Gordon says:

    All very true, though you have to earn their trust before receiving a present from them. “You give me food, I give you shiny stone” is a fair exchange.

    I’ve been feeding my garden birds for decades. The knowledge of who I am has been passed down through generations, allowing me to hand-feed some individuals.

    Each morning starts with a call to the crows, blackbirds, and pheasants as I put out their morning feed.

    My favorite Corvus, a carrion crow, I call Raven. He doesn’t seem to mind the name. Raven has a peculiar three-caw call that distinguishes him from other crows, and I recognize his call from afar.

    Towards the end of last summer, I was in the backyard, preparing for winter and splitting logs. Suddenly, Raven flew overhead and cawed a greeting. I looked up, shouted “Hello, Raven,” and he continued on his way. Half an hour or more passed, and I was still splitting logs when Raven flew overhead again, this time in the opposite direction, and gave me another greeting call. I looked up, acknowledged his call, and he continued on his way.

    Mrs. B, the blackbird, gives me a single chirp, which I’ve learned to copy. Most mornings, she’s at my feet, picking up the sunflower hearts, but if she isn’t in sight, I call her, and she arrives in no time.

    Last year, I had a male and female pheasant, whom I respectfully named Big Boy and Darling. Their call was a staccato “mmm, mmm, mmm.” Big Boy would reliably call at 6 AM, signaling his arrival for breakfast. As I approached them with seed, I would walk slowly, bowing and mimicking their call, and they would respond in kind. It didn’t take long for them to accept me and eat from my hand, though Big Boy was often more cautious.

    Many people say they no longer hear birds singing, but the reality is that there is a distinct time when their calls begin and end.

    In my area, birds have been bonding since early January, pairing off, and investigating nest boxes around the garden.

    The dawn chorus started last week and typically begins around the last week of January with the Chaffinch and gradually expands over the weeks into a great cacophony of every imaginable song, trill, and tweet. Then, quite suddenly, as though a light switch has been flicked off, it all stops within a day or so of June 21st, and that’s it for another year. There’s no more need to proclaim a territory, and the young have flown the nest and must now fend for themselves. But I’ll always be here to give them a handout. Bless them. So, don’t underestimate birds, and animals for that matter, and children; they are not as stupid as some would think.

    If anyone out there is interested there’s a couple of apps I use which you may find interesting, both are free on Android and Iphone.

    https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.cornell.birds.ebird&hl=en_GB

  2. 9 Feb 2026 12:44
    Tapestry says:

    Crows know when you are feeling down and shout at you from close range, when they normally would fly away

  3. 10 Feb 2026 18:09
    Gordon says:

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SA0ZFd-UM4w

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