Strange Corvid Beahvior Denver

[Eric Dinkel]

A neighbor shared this with me- This corvid has been hanging in my neighborhood for the last few days in the highlands in Denver. It is walking around and calling a strange, higher pitched one note call from time to time (I'll try to get a recording). 

The behavior is odd. It doesn’t appear injured but keeps on the ground not flying much. It is not very afraid of humans and would allow people to get within 5 feet before walking away. Our neighbor saw it in their window looking in (I have a video that I don't know how to attach, email me if you want to take a look). Wondering 2 things:

1. Crow or Raven? 

2. Has anyone seen or heard of behavior like this before? Possible this bird was raised in captivity?

[Eric Dinkel]

Forgot to sign off:

Eric Dinkel
Denver

[Larry Modesitt]

Eric,

You are right that it’s strange behavior! Iit is a crow—the raven would be exhibiting a gigantic beak. I believe you are making a good guess that the bird was kept in captivity. Injuries sometimes cause a bird not to flee humans. For example, that can happen when a bird flies into a window seeing a reflection of the nature behind and is temporarily stunned. But I doubt if that would persist for days. In the photo from behind, the crow  shows some feather damage on the tail and flight feathers. 

It would be worthwhile to hear the call it’s making. Corvids can mimic (Remember Edgar Allen Poe’s raven who repeated “Nevermore?”) 

And finally, the crow peering inside is unusual also. I suggest calling Denver Audubon  (303) 973-9530, as people losing birds often call there. You also might try feeding it a small amount of food. Crows eat virtually anything. If you don’t have any filet mignon handy, hamburger. If not hamburger, table scraps would do. If it doesn’t eat, something is seriously wrong.

Thanks for reporting this. Let folks know if you get an answer.

Larry Modesitt

Arvada 

On Jul 5, 2020, at 12:15 PM, Eric Dinkel <endi...@gmail.com> wrote:

A neighbor shared this with me- This corvid has been hanging in my neighborhood for the last few days in the highlands in Denver. It is walking around and calling a strange, higher pitched one note call from time to time (I'll try to get a recording). 

<IMG_4429.JPG>

The behavior is odd. It doesn’t appear injured but keeps on the ground not flying much. It is not very afraid of humans and would allow people to get within 5 feet before walking away. Our neighbor saw it in their window looking in (I have a video that I don't know how to attach, email me if you want to take a look). Wondering 2 things:

1. Crow or Raven? 

2. Has anyone seen or heard of behavior like this before? Possible this bird was raised in captivity?

<IMG_0309.JPG>

<IMG_4433.PNG>

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0069b59e-6a4c-4d64-bc91-b62bc1231f26o%40googlegroups.com.
<IMG_4429.JPG><IMG_0309.JPG><IMG_4433.PNG>

[Charles Hundertmark]

Can’t the for sure from the photos, but it looks like there might be a trace of a gape at the base of the bill, in which case this would be a young bird.

Chuck Hundertmark

Lafayette, CO

On Jul 5, 2020, at 12:15 PM, Eric Dinkel <endi...@gmail.com> wrote:

<IMG_4433.PNG>

[Lynne Forrester]

We've had crows raise a brood every year by our house and in our yard for several years. This behavior sounds a lot like the behavior of the youngest who is "forced" to fledge too early because they won't stay in the nest when the older siblings fledge. In my experience this youngest is completely befuddled for quite awhile. It's especially an issue when the older ones and the parents move to a location that essentially abandons the youngest.

Two years ago the youngest (3rd one) didn't survive because they couldn't keep up when the oldest two moved down the block and the parent followed them. Last year they had four! I could tell by watching that this 4th one was way down on the smarts scale compared to their siblings. It took him months to figure out how things worked. The 3rd one this year is doing better, but he's still begging a lot while the older two don't. 

Lynne Forrester 

Littleton 

---

From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Eric Dinkel <endi...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 5, 2020 12:15:31 PM
To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Strange Corvid Beahvior Denver

 

--