Birds of a Feather?

On a walk this week, the sky blackened with crows. I stopped to watch as they circled a tree—some lighting on it, others frolicking together in the air near it. Like the starlings earlier this fall, they seemed to be preparing for an event.

This brought to mind the scarecrow exhibit I saw last month at the local arboretum. Here’s one of my favorites—the “Free Range, Heritage Breed Urban Chicken Made Entirely of Recycled, Repurposed and Locally Sourced Organic Materials” (as the signage read):

This chicken probably wouldn’t scare any corvids, but it might give them something to think about.

It’s Too Darn Hot

If you live where the temperature is sizzling, you could probably use some relief. Here’s a diversion to help you cool off: snow scenes.

Thanks to the authors of Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans, I learned that crows and ravens enjoy playing in snow. This first raven was caught on film for a PBS “Nature” special. (Warning: The first 14 seconds are titles and a gruesome wildlife dinner; start the video at :15 if you need to skip directly to the raven.)

For a different view of a Corvid at play, check out this amateur video of a crow sledding on a rooftop—with his/her own makeshift sled!

Pretty clever birds, don’t you think? I guess only people have birdbrains.