Of crows and ravens

The story is an Aesop tale. Put pebbles in a jar of water you will take the level of the water up closer to the rim of the jar. The crow was chosen as the animal in this story because corvids are some of the smartest birds going. Could a crow actually figure out how to raise the level of water by adding pebbles to a half filled jar? Yeah, in all probability. Crows are wicked smart. Befriend a crow you'll have a friend for life. Annoy, insult, or harm a crow…well you can move, you can change your name but I don't hold out much hope for you.

?A “rattle” or “cluck” is a sound made by pretty much all members of the crow and raven family in some context or another. It’s like a signature for them — but it can mean different things depending on the species, so be sure what you have is a crow: Because ravens make that low, rapid, often dry and rattle-like “cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk” sound for slightly different reasons than a crow. Crows drink a lot of water. Not only that, but they like to bathe and soak/clean their food in water as well… so they need a substantial amount.

Because crows open their bills and pants to evaporate water within their bodies in hot weather to cool down — they do need to drink more water in the summertime too, and when temperatures rise to compensate. The genus name is Latin for "raven". Recent research has found some crow species capable of not only tool use, but also tool construction. Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals with an encephalization quotient equal to that of many non-human primates.

Crows are omnivorous, and their diet is very diverse. They will eat almost anything, including other birds, fruits, nuts, mollusks, earthworms, seeds, frogs, eggs, nestlings, mice, and carrion. The origin of placing scarecrows in grain fields resulted from the crow's incessant damaging and scavenging, although crows assist farmers by eating insects otherwise attracted to their crops. As a group, crows show remarkable examples of intelligence. Natural history books from the 18th century recount an often-repeated, but unproven anecdote of "counting crows" — specifically a crow whose ability to count to five (or four in some versions) is established through a logic trap set by a farmer.

I know we’re going through a heatwave right now, and my crows are drinking sips of water outside every couple of hours. They don’t do this in cooler temps! I’ve just put out 2 extra containers of water for them (and other birdies) this morning, and already they are half empty. The rattle-like, knocking/clucking sound is a pretty common vocalization used in a variety of contexts, all dependent on pitch. Juveniles frequently use this call to attract the attention of their parents when they want to be doted on — but don’t want to be fed. It’s more of a “give me attention! I want you to preen me! Love me! But no food — I’m full” kind of call.

This rattle-cluck call is also used by adults to invite attention to something new or strange, or anything that isn’t immediately alarming, but should be paid attention to. In this case the sound is much dryer and more clipped, if that makes sense. It’s a mild warning to their fellow crows, a “lets look and listen and see what this thing does” kind of warning. Now, ravens, conversely, use this call quite differently. They also will rattle in order to call attention to something, but it’s a different kind of attention. Ravens are, somewhat ironically, much more wary of “new” things than a crow. So a raven rattling, with a higher tone, at you is telling it’s fellow ravens, as well as you, to “keep your distance”.

Female ravens, specifically, also use this call in conjunction with a loud, repetitive knocking sound in order to claim territory and assert dominance over other females. It’s a much more hostile noise coming from a raven, but thankfully it is rarely directed at a human, unless they’re tame. In which case, being “knocked” at is probably a good sign you should take a few steps back, because although a raven is about 1/4 as likely to attack you as a crow, tame ravens can do a hell of a lot more damage.

Please never hurt a crow. They are the most intelligent specie next to humans! I have grown to love these beautiful creatures. They are so smart and remember your face. I have never seen them fight amongst each other, but rather stick together and protect one another. They are gentle yet Leary. I feed them all day long and they actually protect our squirrels from the falcons and hawks that ‘try' to visit regularly in hopes of getting one of our squirrels!! Crows are extremely territorial and I'm so thankful! Our squirrels have had a few close calls but the crows always seem to come to the rescue!!

A similar incident occurred with me, not once or twice but on innumerable occasions. When I was in school and younger in terms of intelligence and experience, we had many crows living nearby our house and in adjoining roads. I was walking on the main road and “Thwack” - I got thrashed by a crow which -was flying and it tried to pull my hair upon the head with its feet and claws.

I was petrified and ran for my life fearing a multiple crow attack as crows attack in a group if they find food or prey. Later I told my friend about this incident at school. He told me that as the crow was the mount bird for “Lord Shani Dev” in Hinduism, I need to take a bath and visit the Shani temple with flowers to the deity and circumambulate the God’s sanctum sanctorum to get rid of the ills of being touched by a crow. So I went to the temple and did as how my friend had advised me to do.

After that Many crows have touched me when they were flying at low altitudes and they have hit me with their wings and feet and have also peed upon me from upon the rooftops, trees and buildings when I was standing below. So each and every time I had a crow incident, I would visit The Shani Dev Temple regularly and Religiously and I would be frightened and be wary of the consequences.

I also saw many Crows die due to electrocution after they unsuspectingly perched upon electric lines and electric transformer units in India - many Hindus tried to save the crows and also poured water into their beaks, as they left this mortal world. I have also seen young crows who had strayed far away from their mothers and nests and they had pink beaks with jet black shiny feathers, so a group of crows would be nearby to save the young crow from dogs, cats and human beings alike. A small crow trying to learn flying is also a common sighting in India as well.

But after studying Zoology, the crows became a part of our curriculum and study at college and we also had a dead crow which had been mounted and kept in a glass case for study in the Zoology lab, so we also had to draw the diagram of a male and a female crow with their egg and nest, and study about its life cycle and behaviour. So from then onwards the crow became closer to me as a bird species and as I had lots of incidents from my childhood I became more accustomed to their presence and now we have 2 crows with a nest in a Tree opposite to our house.

Hence I can now proudly declare that I love the crows and all other birds and animals (I sound pretty childish, insane and mad) But I must admit that I overcame my fear about crows and I treat them as my own friends and relatives and do not shoo them away even if they venture close to me. The Crows too understand me and they too have become fearless and more trustworthy. Cheers!