For city dwellers, crows are most likely the most familiar bird after the pigeon sparrows. These black birds are especially noticeable in winter, against the background of snow. The flight of their flock makes a rather gloomy impression. It is based primarily on the knowledge that crows often circle where there are corpses, which is why they are considered the harbingers of death.
Crows are very smart birds, but people don't like them very much. And this dislike has a foundation. Black birds drag everything that lies badly, take away trash cans, can easily attack domestic animals and, in turn, do not really like humans. A flock of crows can spoil crops in a decent sized garden or vineyard. It is extremely difficult to ward off the crows, let alone kill them.
However, the ravens' quick wits draw attention to them. They become the object of numerous studies, and a simple observation of these birds can give some pleasure.
1. It is widely known that the raven and the raven are not male and female, but different species of birds. Much less known is the fact that crows are the general name of the genus of birds, which includes several species of ravens and several species of crows, and there are 43 of them in total. And they are part of the order of passerines.
The difference is visible well enough
2. In general, we can say that crows are larger than crows, and their color is much darker.
3. Another difference between similar birds is the attachment of ravens to one nest. Accordingly, the crows build their housing capital, from rather thick branches, which are covered with wool or moss. Their smaller cousins build a new nest every year.
4. The largest species of ravens - it is called the "giant raven" - lives in Indonesia. Birds of this species can reach 60 cm in length. Giant crows live in the jungle, which are now being intensively cut down. The reduction in the area of habitable habitats has put the giant crow on the brink of extinction.
5. White crows, in principle, exist. Their color is caused by the effect of albinism - the absence of a coloring pigment. However, such a bird has practically no chance of surviving - the coloring does not allow it to effectively hunt or hide from predators.
6. Ravens are monogamous birds. Once they have chosen a companion or companion, they spend their entire lives together, and after the death of a partner or partner they do not look for new ones.
7. Ravens have a very developed language. Sounds of different tonality can announce a general gathering of the flock, indicate the presence of food or a threat. Of course, birds use sounds in mating games. In total, they are capable of producing up to 300 different sounds. For a conversation with Ellochka the man-eating, for example, this is more than enough.
8. Crows are very intelligent birds. They know how to count and invent all kinds of ways to get to food. It is known that in order to crack a nut, they fly higher and throw it. But these are Russian crows who have a lot of land at their disposal. In overcrowded and fully built-up Tokyo, crows throw nuts at an intersection, wait for a red traffic light, and eat nuts crushed by cars.
Limousine is a good nutcracker
9. In cities, we see crows with a 99% probability. Ravens are much less adapted to life in cities, especially large ones. However, they feel quite comfortable in large parks.
10. This species of bird can be called omnivorous. Ravens can hunt small animals, but they may well be content with carrion. The same applies to plant foods - fresh grain or berries can be pecked, but rot from the landfill will completely satisfy them.
Landfill - stationary food station
11. The raven may well be called “flying rats”. They endure a lot of diseases, but they themselves do not get sick, and are extremely tenacious. Moreover, a crow is very difficult to kill even with a firearm. The bird has such a keen ear that it hears the click of the cocked trigger tens of meters away and instantly flies away. They also feel the gaze of a person.
12. Crows are a collective species. The flock will never give offense to a wounded or sick bird, to the extent that relatives will feed it like a chick. However, exceptions were recorded when a flock pushed around a wounded crow. However, the crow could not be from this flock.
13. In fairy tales and myths, ravens are endowed with an amazing life expectancy for living beings - they can live for 100, 200, and 300 years. In fact, crows live up to 50 years at best, and in greenhouse conditions of closeness to humans and regular feeding they live up to 75 years.
14. In the Tower of London, ravens from XVII are considered to be in the public service. They lived in the Tower before, but the state did not need to feed them - the bodies of the executed were enough. Then they began to execute in another place, and the ravens were transferred to state food. Each of them receives 180 grams of meat per day, dry food, vegetables and sometimes additional carcasses of rabbits. They are looked after by a special caretaker. One of the ravens knows how to qualitatively repeat human speech. And when there was an epidemic of bird flu in Europe, the ravens in the Tower were placed in special spacious cages.
Ravens in the Tower. On the right are the very cells
15. Crows are very fond of all kinds of entertainment and often invent them themselves. They can ride off ice slides and ice-covered roofs and other smooth surfaces. Another fun is to throw a small object from a height so that another crow will catch it, and then switch roles. Any small shiny thing will certainly interest the crow, and she will try to steal it to hide it in a cache.
16. Ravens also live at home, but such a neighborhood can hardly be considered happiness from the point of view of the average person. Birds shit very intensely and emit a strong unpleasant odor. They are very jealous and try to scare or bite any stranger who comes into the house. Having a good understanding of the prohibitions, crows break them, remaining alone - they spoil furniture, clothes or shoes.
17. Experiments carried out by scientists at one of the American universities have shown that crows distinguish and remember the faces of people. However, the Runet is actively replicating the story of the owner of a hunting dog, who walked the pet along the same route. The dog somehow killed a wounded or sick crow, after which the route of the walk had to be radically changed - a flock of crows constantly tried to attack the dog and its owner. Moreover, changing the time of the walk did not help - there was always a “duty” crow on the route, which immediately summoned a flock upon seeing the dog and its owner.
18. Aesop's fable about a crow raising the water level in a jug by throwing stones into the water was repeated in laboratory conditions. The result was the same.
19. Folklore of different nations does not say anything good about crows. They are either heralds of death, or the souls of the dead, or the souls of the damned, or simply harbingers of serious misfortune. Unless in Scandinavian mythology, two crows are simply Odin's scouts. Unmanned aircraft, therefore, are not at all a twentieth-century invention.
20. The best food for newly hatched crow chicks is bird eggs. Therefore, crows mercilessly exterminate someone else's future offspring, especially since they choose a place for a nest in places where they will be the largest birds. The crow's nest located nearby is a scourge for the house poultry.
