What are you crowing about? Now you see it, now you don't

Crows are everywhere in Albuquerque, often seen (and heard) in noisy flocks. They are agressive, often chasing away hawks and other birds. Crows are known for their adaptability, and for their loud, harsh "caw." A group of crows is called a 'murder.' When one crow dies, the murder will surround the deceased. This funeral isn't just to mourn the dead though, the crows gather together to 'investigate' what killed their member. Then the murder of crows will band together and chase predators in a behavior called 'mobbing.' Crows are omnivores, which means they eat anything: animals such as small amphibians, reptiles, eggs, and carrion. They also eat insects, seeds, grains, nuts and fruit. In a rather strange behavior American crows will stand on anthills and allow the ants climb on them. Then the crow will rub the ants into their feathers. This behavior is called 'anting' and is used to combat parasites.

I walked through the Alameda open space the other day and saw this crow in a tree. The woods are so abundant with crows, that it's almost like seeing a city overpopulated by pigeons. Below is pictured an American crow with some kind of large seed or nut in its mouth.  I usually ignore them, but here was this crow trying to swallow something that looked like a very large nut or seed. The crow would toss the object in the air ever so slightly and then try to swallow it, but the object was so big, the crow was having trouble. Finally the crow was able to swallow the object. This begs the question: just how big is "too big" for a crow to eat? I found a bunch of information on crows, some of which I've posted here, but nothing about this topic. This information may be more than you want to know but I actually learned a lot of things I didn't know. Enjoy the pictures!





































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