One For The Crow
This all country girl has been trying and trying for months even years to get a shot of crow. Not just one where they are a black silhouette on a white background or high in the sky. Now I wanted a crow sitting in a tree or on the ground with its eye glinting in the light. Crows although black to the naked eye actually are covered in glorious colours and if caught right in the light, they shine true in the sun. They can show brown, some may even have white and if the light catches the black feathers right, you may even see a hint of blue. Now they are mostly black yes but these colours dance in their feathers making the beauty of the crow.
As I don’t have many great shots, in fact only one, of a crow and so therefore I will not be sharing any except the one of this post. I will share some interesting facts about crows and why they are one of the most intelligent animals on this planet we call Earth.
They Talk About You To Other Crows
Crows have more than 20 calls in their language and each one has a specific meaning. The most common, a harsh caw, has several qualities and lengths that may serve different purposes. If you see two crows cawing with each other while they sit together, have you ever thought they may be talking about you? You may not be wrong as you are as much their neighbour as they are yours. If they see you every day, they’ll remember you and they’ll call out to each other if they do not recognize you.
Two Caws = Where are you? This the mates use to call out to each other to know exactly where either one is at all times. To humans it doesn’t seem to have a meaning but each caw has a reason.
Three Caws = Danger! Crows will use this call whenever they see a dog or any animal or human that they do not recognize. Don’t say that crows don’t remember faces, they do and they won’t forget it for the rest of their lives.
Four (or more) Caws = Territory. They establish their territory to others that trespass into it, informing that this is their area. “This is my turf.”
Crows call out to each other, warning of danger but also it is how they call the murder in for help. Crows are more complex communicators than other birds but they talk to each other. Using the maximum distances it is observed of 275 m for 1st flocks and 312 m for 2nd flocks, it is suggested that under some conditions crows within open areas of nearly 24.3 ha and 30.4 ha, respectively, heard the calls or responded to other crows hearing the calls.
2. They Recognize Human Faces
Studies have been proven that crows do recognize human faces which can make them smarter than humans. We may not be able to tell a crow apart from another but not only could they tell themselves apart, they don’t forget us humans. A study has been done with a group of crows where the members of the study wore masks after the crows got familiar with them. The ones that wore masks would find them being dive bombed by crows but only if that same mask was used to mess with the crow. They don’t forget a face. With this same quality, it is how crows will not forget what you have done to them. They will remember you and when you come around, they will attack if they found it serious enough, you know like killing their mate.
3. The Remember What You Done
If you think you are safe from a crows grudge once it has passed on from this life, you are mistaken. Studies have proven that crows will pass on their grudges to their offspring for generations to come. It can be an entire lifetime before the grudge is forgotten, and not a crows lifetime. Another case of crow memory comes from Chatham, Ontario. Around half a million crows would stop in Chatham on their migration route, posing a threat to the farming community's crops. The mayor of the town declared war on crows and the hunt began. Since then, the crows have bypassed Chatham, flying high enough to avoid being shot. This had not, however, stopped them from leaving droppings all over the municipality. The crows will drop revenge on you in each passing and it can be a sure mess.
Now there is some great things that crows will remember, like if you feed them. If you feed them long enough, crows will repay you in shiny gifts each time. If you receive something you like, you feed them more and the crow will remember to look for more of that specific type of item.
4. They Understand Analogies
Remember in standardized tests where they had analogies sections? Probably not but with a crow, even though unlikely to outsmart a human on a standardized test, will never forget them. Crows can understand abstract concepts and analogies.
A study in Moscow had trained crows to match items that were the same as each other, like apples to apples. Oranges to oranges. Same colour, same shape, or even same number. Next, the birds were tested to see if they could match objects that had the same relationship to each other.For example, a circle and a square would be analogous to red and green rather than to two oranges. The crows grasped the concept the first time, without any training in the concepts of "same and different."
Now as much as I would love to go on and on about these intelligent species, I will wrap it up with some facts before continuing on with the story.
Scientists compare the intelligence of crows to that of a seven-year-old human child.
Crows, ravens, and other corvids are the only non-primates that make tools.
Crows are capable of abstract reasoning, complex problem-solving, and group decision-making.
Now on April 12, 2024, I got one of the shots of a crow I never thought I would get. As I write this, I want to say to really go after photographing a crow, it is inspired by a wildlife photographer I follow named Isaac Spotts. Isaac is an amazingly talented wildlife photographer who won awards and one of my favorite photos of his comes from his Raven series. Now I still have a long way to go to get the quality he has in those photos but if I wasn’t in such an ecstatic rush, if I took some more time, I would have come close.
As I was riding shotgun in the Ford F-150 down one of the more side roads in Elk Island National Park, I was able to focus more on the skies and trees. As we skirted around Astotin Lake, following the back way in hopes of seeing Moose, Whitetail Deer, Elk, and of course….BISON, I was watching for birds. Black birds, bald eagles, geese, all the above. I saw this crow in a branch very close to the road. With the 150-600mm Sigma lens on, I got my mum to inch closer and closer. Now normally the crow would take off and be on its own marry way, leaving me cursing myself for pushing my luck on moving closer. This feller, he did not budge but kept calling out in the rhythmic calls to the mate that was close by. Resting the giant lens on the sill of the truck window, not daring to open the door, I focused and held it still as I watched the crow call out. I was getting the light in its eyes from the setting sun, its feathers gleaming black and brown in the light. As I was photographing it, I saw the eye change. I gasped and fell back in my seat saying, “no way! I got to get that.”
My mum, she didn’t see what I saw and was like, “What? What do you have to get.”
I told her, “watch closely and you will see it in its eyes.” The nictitating membrane fell across the crows eye as it called out. Now the nictitating membrane is a transparent or translucent third eyelid present in some animals that can be drawn across the eye from the medial canthus to protect and moisten it while maintaining vision. Now when I saw this, I thought of Isaac Spotts photo and I just had to try and capture this photo as it called out, making mine unique all entirely my own. I have learned lots from wildlife photographers such as Isaac on birds and while I continue to grow in my adventures, I am now challenging myself to try and continue to get the nictitating membrane in crows, ravens, and other birds alike. How nice would it be to get it on a Bald Eagle one day. One day and that day will come.
Now as I share this image with you, it gives this haunting demonic look of the crow and it is eye catching. Pun intended. This shot goes to show, you can do anything if you want it bad enough. I wanted this bad enough and I wasn’t going to give up. Anything worth having, takes time.
The Eclipse of A Crow
If you want to check out Isaac’s photos, please visit his website. He is such a talented wildlife photographer. https://isaacspicz.com/