the intelligence of corvids

dodderangler

Was out for ramble with shotgun yesterday and went to old castle ruins on my permission that every year at this time has nesting jackdaws and rooks. So figured I'd hit them now as they're always a nuisance for farmer.
Shot two left and right. So I hid in the ruins and after few mins I noticed one came towards me and spotted me and turned. Few more mins and same one came and turned.
I reckon he is a scout because he turned and signalled called each time.
I gave up and walked away and he spotted me again and signalled. Within two mins the whole flock returned once I was no longer a threat. They're so smart it ridiculous.

Cass

Watched a documentary a few years back. They had a man walk through a park with a mask on. the man was a researcher that used the mask in the lab. When the birds were released they remembered the mask and reacted loudly to it.

After he took the mask off they would not be bothered. When others wore different masks they didn't seem bothered, but as soon as this specific mask was worn they reacted.

Shows they remember and pass on things.

Dial Hard

I'm not a hunter (don't think I've ever posted here before) but they are ridiculously smart. My dog stole a turkey carcass off them that had been left in a local field after Christmas and for weeks afterwards they ground-strafed her whenever we were in there.

Bogwoppit

I watched one slide down a slope on its back in the snow a few years ago.
It would get to the bottom, fly/hop back up to the top, jump/flip on its back and slide down again.
Watched it for about 20 minutes.

It looked like it was having great craic altogether.

Chuchote

I saved a baby magpie from a cat years ago. After that, local magpies used to notice when I came out of the house and follow me down the street, flying along the rooftops as I walked along and gossiping to each other. Went on for a couple of years before a generation came about that forgot me

s15r330

Cass wrote: »

Watched a documentary a few years back. They had a man walk through a park with a mask on. the man was a researcher that used the mask in the lab. When the birds were released they remembered the mask and reacted loudly to it.

After he took the mask off they would not be bothered. When others wore different masks they didn't seem bothered, but as soon as this specific mask was worn they reacted.

Shows they remember and pass on things.

Was this not repeated a few years later with the same mask a few kms away and birds from a different area who weren't there for the 1st one reacted also.
It looked like the info about the mask had spread.
Even to younger birds who weren't even born at the time of the original experiment.

blackpearl

Had a pet jackdaw when I was 13 we got it to talk the cleverness of this bird I never seen the like it would not say much words but it would say 2 words all the time fu-k off every one had a greet laugh but it nearly got me killed with the parents when he fu-k ed the local priest off their was war he ended up been let go ,he hung around for a couple of weeks and I never seen him again.

tabby aspreme

I have some land where I keep sheep at the end of a long lane , when I go to check on them in the morning , if there is a grey crow or Raven acting as a lookout making a racket in the tall trees near the entrance gate it's a sure sign that there is a sick sheep or one stuck on its back or caught in a fence which they are attacking or planning to attack, they also know what a gun looks like . Some buzzards have moved into the area over the last few years and it's good to see them giving the greys and ravens a hard time

Grizzly 45

Ravens are known to be excellent ventriloquists,and proably next to the chimp ,the only animal that uses tools.They hae able to solve some pretty tricky mechanical problems,like how to lift up their reward from a long bit of string tied to a branch and are known to play deception games on hiding their food from other ravens. Had to dispatch a pair of jackdaws as they were insisting on moving into a water tank tower on the side of my house yesterday.

It is a pointless operation trying to stalk crows,they are eternally suss of mankind,and will feck off at the slightest sign of danger.Their two weaknesses are ,they are utterly defensive of their young,and can't stand owls or other birds of prey.Which they will mob en masse at any given chance.So cammo up,set up a good hide ,get an owl decoy and learn to work a crow calle,one of the easiest calls to master,and you can fill literally coal sacks with dead crows within a few hours worth of shooting. Used to freak out my teachers years ago that I could summon up hundreds of crows with my crow caller in the school yard and almost recreate Hitchcocks "The Birds" school scene within minutes.:D

tac foley

If men were birds, few would be clever enough to be crows.

tac

Victor

My father used to drive Cork-Macroom for work. There would be a fair few grain trucks on the road that would inevitably loose a little of their load each time. The crows would be out after the grain each time a truck went by. If a car approached, the young crows would fly off, but the older crows would simply hop across the median line, wait for the car to go by and hop back again to get the grain. This would work fine until a second car would come along and overtake the first car - and bam!

One night coming home, my father hit a rabbit on the road. He went back and picked it up and put it in the boot of the car. When he got home, it was late so he hung the rabbit on a drain pipe at the back of the house. Next morning, when they were left out, the three Jack Russells made a beeline for it, only for my father to take it in. The dogs had rabbit stew for the next few days. For 10 years after, the drain pipe would be the first thing the dogs would check out when they were left out in the morning. There was only ever the one rabbit, but ye know, there might have been a smell for a few weeks and always the prospect of another one.

J.R.

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

get an owl decoy and learn to work a crow call.:D

Unfortunately, owl decoy or crow caller not allowed....absolute crazy rule!!

http://nargc.ie/predator-control-and-the-law/

Use of fox/crow callers & crow decoys

Section 35 (1) (d) of the Wildlife Acts 1976 to 2012 states that a person shall not – use an electrical or other instrument or appliance (including recording apparatus) emitting sound, for the purpose of hunting any wild bird or any wild animal. The use of the term “…or other instrument…” obviously does not restrict the definition to electrically operated instruments/appliances only. For example, metal and plastic callers and possibly even polystyrene rubbed against a window could be interpreted as an “instrument or appliance” under the legislation. Calling a fox with one’s mount, however, would be acceptable.



In effect, this means that it is illegal to use callers for grey crow, magpie and fox. However, Section 35 (4) allows the Minister to grant a licence to a person to use an instrument or appliance emitting sound for the purpose of repelling, scaring or capturing any wild bird or any wild animal for scientific research or for another purpose approved of by the Minister. Note that the legislation refers to “repelling, scaring or capturing” and does not say for the purpose of killing.



In this context, the wording of the license application is important and the author is aware that licenses have been refused to applicants seeking to use electric callers “to assist in controlling corvids and foxes”. However, the author is aware of applicants being granted a license to “assist in the identification of these species” as part of a predator control programme.



Section 35 also makes the use of decoys for crows, including grey crow and magpie, illegal without a license. Artificial decoys can only be used for the purpose of hunting ducks, geese and woodpigeon. If you wish to use decoys for grey crow, magpie or fox, you must apply for a specific licence under Section 35 of the Wildlife Acts 1976 to 2012. The same license (Section 35) covers the use of callers and decoys. An application for a license under Section 35 requires the applicant to outline the:

Purpose of licence
Species Name
Area(s) in which applicant will operate (e.g. county & townland)
Qualifications/experience in this field of activity
Other supporting licence/permit(s)
Organisation to which applicant is affiliated
Period for which licence is required

Birdnuts

J.R. wrote: »

Unfortunately, owl decoy or crow caller not allowed....absolute crazy rule!!

http://nargc.ie/predator-control-and-the-law/

Use of fox/crow callers & crow decoys

Silly stuff allright - over the years I discovered that by making a sound like a Raven, it drives other corvids mad and causes them to come in and take a closer look, especially near Rookeries and the like. Took out a lot of hoodies that way over the years:D

Grizzly 45

J.R. wrote: »

Unfortunately, owl decoy or crow caller not allowed....absolute crazy rule!!





Section 35 also makes the use of decoys for crows, including grey crow and magpie, illegal without a license. Artificial decoys can only be used for the purpose of hunting ducks, geese and woodpigeon. If you wish to use decoys for grey crow, magpie or fox, you must apply for a specific licence under Section 35 of the Wildlife Acts 1976 to 2012. The same license (Section 35) covers the use of callers and decoys. An application for a license under Section 35 requires the applicant to outline the:

Purpose of licence
Species Name
Area(s) in which applicant will operate (e.g. county & townland)
Qualifications/experience in this field of activity
Other supporting licence/permit(s)
Organisation to which applicant is affiliated
Period for which licence is required

Ok ,so apply for the liscense then.
To hunt Corvids
Corvids[all types excluding ravens.]
Wherever in Ireland
Liscensed gun owner who shoots crows at every legal opportunity
????
NARGC or whomever.
Whatever legal crow shooting season is or derogration thereof.
Doesn't seem too difficult??Just the usual BS paperwork to keep someone somewhere happy.

Chuchote

Been reading this thread in bemusement.

1. Corvids - fabulous, intelligent, clever animals
2. Kill them! Legal? Ah, sure

ligertigon

Chuchote wrote: »

Been reading this thread in bemusement.

1. Corvids - fabulous, intelligent, clever animals
2. Kill them! Legal? Ah, sure

"you can still see the beauty up close, as the tiger kills you" Old chinese proverb.

Chuchote

ligertigon wrote: »

"you can still see the beauty up close, as the tiger kills you" Old chinese proverb.

Probably learned from a clever corvid talking about humans.

schmidt223

Work on an estate with a golf course and at times the rooks, jackdaws and greys will dig up the greens looking for slugs. Knock a few then with the air rifle but quiet soon they get to know the car and won't hang around. The boss used to keeper in Birr castle where they had a ladder trap set up. One day when one of the keepers went into the trap a crow managed to get out through the door. After that they never caught anything on that particular patch of ground till they moved the trap to another site on the estate.

Bogwoppit

The Garda Traffic Corps found a large number of dead crows on the M8 just outside Cork recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.
A Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was not Avian Flu.
The cause of death appeared to be from vehicular impacts. However, during analysis it was noted that varying colours of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws.
By analysing these paint residues it was found that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with motorbikes, while only 2% were killed by cars.
The investigators then hired an Ornithological Behaviourist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of motorbike kills versus car kills. The Ornithological Behaviourist quickly concluded that when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow to warn of danger.
They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "bike".

ligertigon

Bogwoppit wrote: »

The Garda Traffic Corps found a large number of dead crows on the M8 just outside Cork recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.
A Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was not Avian Flu.
The cause of death appeared to be from vehicular impacts. However, during analysis it was noted that varying colours of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws.
By analysing these paint residues it was found that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with motorbikes, while only 2% were killed by cars.
The investigators then hired an Ornithological Behaviourist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of motorbike kills versus car kills. The Ornithological Behaviourist quickly concluded that when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow to warn of danger.
They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "bike".

Also, some of the crows had vanaerial diseases!