carrion crow unusual behaviour

[peploa]

I have just seen some unusual behaviour a crow lyning on its back legs in the air with another crow pulling its tail feathers, the crow did not retaliate in any way it just led on its back. After about 2 minutes the crow that was tugging the feathers moved along side of the crow lying on its back and did the same, turned over and had its feet up in the air. After about one minute they started to rolly powlly and generally wrestle with each other in a playful way. Some children came into the park and the crows flew away.................. anyone sen such behaviour........?

Also for a number of year I have see crows gather early morning 1 to 2 hundread at a time and then fly off in a north westerly direction to return early evening and repeat the journey the following day.

Any information on this?

I have a facinating observation regardiing a Magpie and a its offspring I will share this with you later.

talk soon

[The Woodman]

Welcome to WAB, peploa.

I've no suggestion regarding your first observation, but intelligent species like crows and magpies can get up to unusual antics.

Your second observation sounds very much like a group of crows leaving and returning to their night roost site at dawn and dusk respectively. At times they can gather in huge numbers, sometimes also with jackdaws. I've normally seen these large groups during the winter months but last month saw one such group in Sedburgh going to roost in a small conifer plantation and being very vocal especially the jackdaws.

[peploa]

A parent Magpie and a young magpie landed on a newly cut lawn in front of the building where I was working. The grass had been left for a few days. The young bird was crying very loud. The parent was turning over the cut grass and eating the bugs that it found also feeding the young bird. This crying continued for about 3 minutes which frustrated the parent. The parent walked up to the young bird and rubbed its beak on the side of the young birds neck for about 15 seconds. The young bird went into a sort of trance and did not move. The parent bird continued to search for food for about 5 more minutes with the young bird still in this trance state. The parent bird then flrw off into the trees and waited for the young bird to come out of the trance. When the young bird began to move the parent called and the young bird flew into the tree to rejoind its parent.

Anyone see this behaviour before?

peploa

[Adam Cheeseman]

Crows, particularly Ravens, will 'play' together either on the ground or aerobatically.

Corvids will also flock together in a pre-roost gathering before heading off to their main roost. At Bedfont Lakes there is a winter roost that contains some 4,000 birds, mainly Jackdaws, but also with several hundred Carrion Crows and a few dozen Magpies. You can watch them coming from all points of the compass.

Cheers,

Adam