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Meet The Corvids: Crows, Rooks, Jackdaws & Others (Misc.)

St.Clair said:
Also, and again it certainly is'nt relevant to crows, Blackbirds are classed as immitator birds and have been known to imitate its fellow tweeters. A blackbird can sound like so many different birds that it is difficult to conduct a proper survey based on sound alone. Recently, as I'm sure you will know, they have been found to immitate mobile phones and car alarms.

Many years ago in Scotland, a small boy found a chick and took it home to get identified and cared for. It was a baby blackbird and he decided to keep it and tame the little blighter.
Well, he spoke to the bird, like one may speak to ones dog, untill one day.........it spoke back!!!

The parrot is an immitator bird. Of course we dont believe that they understand the words. They are immitating the sounds.
Our words are just sounds to the world but to the human mind they represent so many different things.


I was under the impression that corvids were accomplished imitators. Chaucer even mentions them "A raven may clepe 'wat!' as welle as the pope" (Cantabury Tales - General Prologue?). Also, I'm sure I've been told my grandfather had a somewhat domesticated jackdaw which could speak (though it died before I was born). So, could the 'baby blackbird' have been some mis-identified corvid, as, and I'm open to being shown otherwise, I've never heard of blackbirds exhibiting this behaviour?

On a connected point - Is the Mynah Bird (often bandied about as one of the best avian imitators) a corvid? It kinda looks a bit crow-ish.

Oh, and while I'm on a roll, from a commonsense/ folklore point of view, I feel that people have always seen crows as intelligent, and furthermore connected with the uncanny. Myths, legends and stories from all over the place have corvid characters in them - Norse myth (Odin's ravens); Aesop's fables (The Fox And The Crow, etc); more recently, Ted Hughes' 'Crow' cycle, which draws on myth from a wide range of sources and features a corvid protagonist. I'm sure other folk can think of a few obvious others I've overlooked. So, corvid intelligence seems to be an ingrained notion in the collective imagination.
 
Is the Mynah Bird (often bandied about as one of the best avian imitators) a corvid? It kinda looks a bit crow-ish.
No, it is a Starling-
(Family Sturnidae)-

but it is one of the Passeriformes, like Blackbirds and Crows, so it isn't so very different.
 
Magpies reflect on a newly discovered intellectual prowess
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Tuesday, 19 August 2008

They may have a brain the size of a pea but magpies have been shown to possess the intellectual prowess necessary to recognise themselves in a mirror – a feat that, until now, has only been seen in humans, apes, elephants and dolphins.


Self-recognition is considered to be one of the hallmarks of a highly evolved brain so it has come as a surprise to find that the magpie can see its own reflection for what it is. A study has shown that magpies can recognise themselves in a mirror as well as any chimpanzee, despite being separated from the mammals and their highly developed brain by some 300 million years of evolutionary history.

The findings may come as no surprise to anyone who has watched a magpie's seemingly sly and arrogant behaviour in the garden, where they frequently raid the nests of smaller birds and are infamous "thieves" that steal shiny objects to adorn their own nests.

Helmut Prior, of Goethe University in Frankfurt, said the findings demonstrate that the ability to recognise a reflection as yourself, rather than seeing it as another individual, does not necessarily depend on the sophisticated mammalian brain. "Our findings provide the first evidence of mirror self-recognition in a non-mammalian species," he said. "They suggest that essential components of human self-recognition have evolved independently in different vertebrate classes with a separate evolutionary history."

Dr Prior and colleagues from Ruhr-University Bochum tested the magpie's self-discriminatory powers in experiments involving five magpies marked with coloured dots on their throats, which could only be seen by looking at their own reflection.

Two of the magpies – named Gertie and Goldie – quickly learnt that the image they could see in a mirror placed in their cages was of themselves and tried to dislodge the coloured dots they could see on their throat feathers.

The "mark test" is frequently used as an indicator of self-recognition in animals and young children as, if done properly, there is only one way the individual can see that the mark is on themselves rather than someone else.

"A crucial step in the emergence of self-recognition is the understanding that one's own mirror reflection does not represent another individual but oneself," said Dr Prior, whose study is published in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLos) Biology. "Mirror self-recognition has been shown in apes and, recently, in dolphins and elephants ... Using the mark test we obtained evidence for mirror self-recognition in the European magpie, Pica pica. This finding shows that elaborate cognitive skills arose independently in corvids [the crow family] and primates, taxonomic groups with an evolutionary history that diverged about 300 million years ago."

Other scientists have already shown that some crows show exceptional intellectual skills, such as using and making simple tools that are used for food foraging.

The relative intelligence of magpies has traditionally presented a problem to gamekeepers and conservationists seeking to control their numbers. Their wariness makes them difficult to shoot, so the most widely used form of population control is a larsen trap, which is baited with a magpie from outside a bird's normal social circle. Dr Prior added: "In addition to showing social understanding during competition for food, magpies are curious and prone to approach new situations, making them ideally suited for an experiment that requires spontaneous interaction with a new and puzzling context."

http://www.independent.co.uk/environmen ... 01857.html
 
The real life Kes: Schoolboy befriends jackdaw as he walks to school – and now they’re inseparable
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:58 AM on 18th March 2011

Parents and pupils at St Mary's RC Primary School in Sunderland complained of being tormented by this jackdaw when it first began appearing at the gates in early December.
It menaced pupils, divebombing children whenever they ventured outside the classroom. Children were so terrified that teachers shortened playtimes and kept them inside to prevent further attacks.
The council even gave the school a high-tech bird scaring device to try to drive it away.

But now, like a real life Kes, the bird has befriended one pupil who passes it on his way to school. Amazingly, the bird started landing on ten-year-old Emmanuel Adams' shoulder as he walked to class.
His feathered friend, who he has named Jack, has taken a shine to Emmanuel, who says the bird is 'not a bully'.
Just like the 1969 film Kes, where a Northern schoolboy tames and befriends a wild Kestrel, the bird and the boy have become firm friends.

And for the past few days the curious crow has even been living with the Adams family, alongside three dogs, four fish and Emmanuel's sisters, Rebecca, 16, Alexi, 11, and Androniki, nine.
Emmanuel's mother, Carolyn Adams, 46, a full-time mum, said: 'The bird took an instant liking to Emmanuel, he would approach him as he walked to school. He picked him out from the other schoolkids.
'One day he just sat on Emmanuel's arm and from then on he would go to school with the bird perched on his arm or shoulder.
'A lorry driver nearly crashed watching him, he was so amazed by it. :shock:
'On Tuesday it wouldn't leave his arm and he walked straight into the house with it. It seems to have settled here and it sits and lets Emmanuel stroke it.
'Emmanuel has been sat with Jack on his shoulder watching telly and while he had his revision work on his lap, Jack was trying to turn the pages.
'I've got some wild bird feed and I've read online that they're omnivorous so I gave him some of our mince and pasta last night. I've given him fruit too.

Mrs Adams admitted she feels bad about having a wild bird in the house and said she has contacted bird charities for advice on looking after Jack.
She added: 'I don't know what I'm going to do with him yet. If I am advised to let him go then I will.
'Emmanuel will be devastated to be parted from him but I want what's best for the bird.
'And if the bird wants to be with Emmanuel then how can that be a bad thing?'

Emmanuel said : 'Any time I walk to school or come back, it goes on my arm. It's been happening since January and last week it followed me all the way home and into the house.
'I've called it Jack if it's a boy and Jackie if it's a girl.'

etc...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1H3Q3oPDH

In other times, that kid might have been burned alive for witchcraft! :twisted:
 
I just hope this doesn't end up the same as Kes!

As lovely as this story is, it is doomed to end up with either some twat popping the jackdaw with an air-rifle, or a cat jumping on it because it's not paying attention like a jackdaw should, or ....... well, the possibilities are endless. It all ends up with a heartbroken little lad though.

I think I'm turning into a sentimental wuss in my old age.
 
My cousins family had a pet jackdaw which the saved from a cat who lived with them for awhile outside their house until meeting a better furry hunter. Its not an uncommon occurrence in the country.
 
A jackdaw with many white feathers. He's a bit misshapen too. But until now he has survived the winter, so I think he'll manage.
jackdaw.jpg
 
There's a lady blackbird (as opposed to a black ladybird) who visits my garden that has a prominent white patch on her back, just above the tail. It's not paint, just a touch of albinism, I think.
 
It is not uncommon to see this. We had a similar blackbird for a while and I once saw a crow flying out to sea with white wing patches in the exact shape of a bonxie. Got me all excited for a moment!
 
There's a lady blackbird (as opposed to a black ladybird) who visits my garden that has a prominent white patch on her back, just above the tail. It's not paint, just a touch of albinism, I think.

There used to be a white, presumable albino, blackbird in a supermarket car park in the next town. Haven't been there for a while but when I used to see it people were feeding it.
 
Interesting article on Corvids and shiny things.

https://corvidresearch.blog/2015/12/04/crow-curiosities-do-crows-collect-shiny-objects/

The notion that corvids, especially magpies, have a special affinity for shiny object has been around for more than a century. In fact to refer to someone as a magpie is to describe them as someone who ‘compulsively collects or hoards small objects’. This idea is so old hat that it can feel a bit frivolous to even wonder if it’s true. The trouble with this bit of corvid whimsy, however, is that when we do investigate it, and scientists have, we find there’s no empirical evidence to support it...
 
Magpies used to be the dominant corvids in this area - it is urban but just a few hundred yards from a park. Recently, crows appear to have moved in. I wonder if this is just a local thing. :dunno:
 
There used to be a white, presumable albino, blackbird in a supermarket car park in the next town. Haven't been there for a while but when I used to see it people were feeding it.
I've also seen a white-headed black bird in an underground town centre car park. I may still have a photo...
 
I've also seen a white-headed black bird in an underground town centre car park. I may still have a photo...

We saw a white duck on a canal last week, do they do white ducks?
 
I once saw a crow flying out to sea with white wing patches
OK, So a few years back I watched a pair of crows head strait out to sea, looking at them with bino's,kept watching till they were too small to see. France is 70 miles due South, (40 miles South East)) the direction they were flying,I can think of no good reason crows would fly 70 miles,posted it on a local ornithology website, for a couple of weeks after that other people were posting about crows coming in off of the sea?.
White patches on their wings?, I'm sure I posted many years ago on here about the large number of crows around here (East Sussex) that have this, still see lots of them, nearly always on top of the wings.Anyone else see this let me know.
 
When we first moved into this house, in 1999, a pair of magpies were frequent visitors to our garden, and one of them was white and gold. So magical. We live in the city but have lots of mature trees around us and so lots of bird life, included a tawny owl that we hear and never see, most recently a song thrush and during the England match last night a never-before-seen Jay appeared. Once we had a peahen and peacock visit too. They took a good long, leisurely look around, freaking out the chickens I kept at that time!

Love the story from the OP.
 
Bastard jackdaw swooped me the other day. It was watching me up close so I thought it was being friendly, then I walked off and it swooped right past my head, nearly shit myself. It clearly had a nest in the house I was at.
I had a pair of magpies build a nest beside my house this spring, I fed them every day, even in the snowy weather I'd go out and clear a space so they could get whatever I was feeding them. The pair moved on and now (I assume) their two babies hang around my garden for food. It's as if the parents know their babies will get a meal from me so they go elsewhere to find food. They're fun to watch, one of them sneaked up behind a big gull on the fence the other day and pecked its tail feathers, the gull fell off in fright, it was pretty funny.
 
I love corvids.

I remember a few years ago at my previous address watching a crow and a magpie "playing chess" in a tree. The crow was trying t get to the magpie's nest to steal the eggs. The magpie was trying to defend its nest. The crow was bigger and stronger but the magpie was more nimble. The two of them were taking it in turns to hop up, across, or down tot he next twig with the intention of gaining an advantage. The magpie needed to stay high so it could drop down on the crow, but sometimes it needed to drop low to block the crow's route. The crow needed to stay low to be near to the nest but sometimes had to go high to try to draw the magpie away from the nest.

In fact rather than chess, perhaps it was like that thing in football where the attacking team passes the ball in a series of triangles, gradually drawing the defence out of line until an attack on goal can be made.

I watched for ages but the players seemed evenly matched and I guess the crow probably gave up in the end and tried later.

The only British corvid I've not seen is a chough. I've seen crows, rooks, jays, wild ravens, jackdaws, magpies, and even hooded crows (in Scotland) but never a chough.
 
I've seen choughs in Switzerland, funny intelligent birds! We threw them cookies off a cliff and they caught them in the air. I've seen all corvids on your list (hooded crow in Berlin, rooks in Czech Republic and Germany, the rest around the house) but I've never seen a raven.
 
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