Conversation of Crows ...
The conversation of crows: They're loud, yes ... 'but they're very polite about it.'
~ Pioneer Press - Bulletin Board * 🇺🇸
Reports IGHGrampa ...
This morning I paused in my open garage door to listen to crow conversation. They seem to have a limited vocabulary, consisting of a single word: 'Caw!' There must be some subtle nuances that escape me. It sounded like just the loudness is the only variance; maybe the number of caws in a phrase gives the meaning.
A crow just forward and to my right, about a block away, gives a number of caws. Then on my left, maybe a couple of blocks away, another crow responds with several caws. To my far right, even farther away and barely loud enough for me to hear, another crow makes a number of caws. They're all very polite about it and always seem to wait for the other guy to finish before responding.
I've always wondered about the raucous calls some birds have. Seagulls make an awful-sounding noise. The loud, raucous calls must carry farther, and maybe are heard better over other sounds, like waves on the shore or traffic noise. I suspect their hearing is much better than mine. The crow conversation group may be spread out in a circle of several miles. Maybe they're even getting crow news relayed on from distant places, like as far away as Wisconsin or Iowa.
The lake has had a coat of smooth, shiny ice for several days now. Out in the middle of the lake are a couple hundred geese and ducks. They can't get through the ice, so why are they hanging around? They can't find anything to eat when the water is frozen. And it must be cold on their feet and bellies to stay out there. Do they know something about oncoming weather that us humans don't? I suppose, if they're determined to hang around, it's safest to stay out there. A fox or coyote might break through the ice, or have trouble running on the slippery surface.
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* Posted: 12/03/2012 12:01:00 AM CST
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