Crows seem to have an unlimited ability to mystify, surprise, and entertain us. Wild and pet crow behavior makes it clear that there's a method to the madness.
There is a platform feeder with two “hoppers” on my back deck that I keep filled during the winter months. I often fill one hopper with black sunflower seed and the other with a mixed wild bird food. This fall I noticed a strange new phenomenon – little piles of seed were appearing, about a teaspoon each in volume, lined up along the top of the deck railing. At first, I had no idea who or what was doing this, but squirrels were my prime suspect.
Before too long I observed the culprit. A large black crow landed on the railing and looked around like a shoplifter about to snatch an object. A sideways step at a time, the crow sidled up to the feeder, continually checking that the coast was clear (is he worried about me or the chickadees?). When he was close enough, he quickly picked up a beakful of seed, and then hopped away along the rail before depositing his loot in, yes, a little pile. Again, he checked whether he’d been detected, looking as innocent as a crow can look, then devoured the choicest tidbits from his haul before repeating the process all over again.
I know the crow likes the sunflower seed, but he seems a bit pickier about the mixed seed. I’ve never seen crows eating from my feeders before, though I’ve seen them checking to see what’s there – on the whole they seem to prefer scavenging from garbage bins and miscellaneous litter. Nothing, however, would surprise me when it comes to crows.
Bill Bennett, who grew up in Michigan, generously shares his boyhood experiences with a pet crow in Ralph, an Unforgettable Pet Crow. Thanks Bill, for this great story.
