Crow "Mating Display"! (ground shot)

[JackofEvil]

So, which one is male and which one is female? Or I'd rather ask, how do they tell the difference? Mother Nature sure is mysterious.

[jamielleman13021]

if you want to see crows come to auburn ny during fall and winter when they roost here. lots of them. you can google auburn ny and crows and get an amount.

[sockman071988]

that's why there are so many big black birds today....to make the babies.

[haluakhan]

crow porn.....................fuck

[SlimeTron5000]

They look slightly different to our endemic Australian raven.

[SexyTwilight11]

not

[oonaboona]

They look like raven to me, not crows. And the wiping of the beaks on things is a sign of discomfort or embarrassment!

[taburineagle]

@oonaboona - They're definitely crows, I've got quite a few closeup shots of them (also, ravens don't typically live near here, so a pair being around is less likely) The wiping of the beaks on things is called "feaking", and they use it to clean their beaks off (usually after eating prey) - hawks (and other raptors) do that also, it's not really a discomfort thing, it's just how they "preen" that part of their body.

[zlemonn]

Yeah, I'm doing a college assignment on carrion crow behaviour, and I can back you up on that one - they are definately crows! the head bobbing suggests courtship behaviour :)

[taburineagle]

@zlemonn - Thank you!

[scrubjay93]

Wow, that was very cool! I watch crows all the time, but have never seen this particular behavior. It seemed like a "pair-bonding" type ritualistic behavior. They are obviously a pair, and I believe many pairs remain together until one dies.

[taburineagle]

Thank you! These 2 crows were definitely a pair, where one was, the other one was usually close behind. I *hear* crows quite often, but very rarely get this kind of opportunity to see them like this!

[031doolittle]

how nice ! Thx

[taburineagle]

Sure! You're welcome!

[alleykitty19]

o cool ive been looking for this its such a good view the picture came out nice

[taburineagle]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it - the whole video (there is another angle to this shot), is actually one crow over a rabbit carcass, the other one comes down, they do this display and then the one walks off.

[Elaheh1naz]

Lovely

[taburineagle]

Thank you!

[WereCrow]

Yeah Crows are very social...they even play games together and have fun. I guess thought that american Crows act a bit differently from my Carrion Crows...but I guess the reason is pretty clear: Cultural differences also occur among animals which are seperated by the atlantic

[WereCrow]

Hmm...I guess Crows don´t really articulate if they want to take ownership of something, they aren´t taht subtile. They are communicative and if one of them wants to claim ownership and tries to shoo away the other one he would have just crowed a few times in an angry manor.

[WereCrow]

BUT I read something about a "bow" ritual which is used for greeting and other stuff. I could never observe it though. Maybe this IS the bow ritual and that one Crow was just clumsy and accidently stumbled upon the other Crow. I mean..animals are also only humans =P

[taburineagle]

Hehe... :) I think that's what it was - although the one did kind of fall over at the end! They seem to be very friendly with one another - I think those 2 are a mating pair, so they'd be a little more friendly towards each other...

[squirrellodge]

Have you thought about setting up a webcam for the nightly racoon visits? You could post everything live on free software from many sites out there.

[taburineagle]

That's the problem! We *have* no nightly raccoon visits! I was saying that I would love to have a raccoon, but we don't have any in this area... that would be a very cool idea though! And I do have a "webcam" feed (it's basically just a live feed of my main camera), but it's not on that often - I don't usually do the Feeder Project unless I'm off from work, and I always seem to be working on something...

[squirrellodge]

you have a good soul

[taburineagle]

Thanks :)

[squirrellodge]

Your video quality has become alot better from a year ago.

[taburineagle]

Thanks... do you mean the quality *of* the video (like the editing), or the resolution?

Thanks for subscribing, by the way... :)

[squirrellodge]

The quality seems alot better from last summer. I first noticed your videos when you were doing the backyard feeder project using peanuts in the cushioning.

[taburineagle]

I'm still doing the Backyard Feeder Project... :) The main problem with getting more "quality" clips is that we don't have a lot of wildlife around here. I'm pretty much limited to squirrels and passerine songbirds, because we live so close to a major road. I was extremely lucky this year that the crows came to the yard! My favorites to get would be raccoons, but we have none of them here either... I would absolutely *love* to have raccoons!!!

[taburineagle]

That's what I thought - it looks like the one on the right's ready, but the one on the left's like "Um... *no*...!" :)

[KMRagan]

That is very cool. I have crows around our house all the time, but have never seen that behavior.

[taburineagle]

Neither have I - it looks like they're trying to mate, but the one doesn't want to deal with it! I have another shot of it from a different angle that I'll upload a little later.

[ajsalcido]

if there iz a crow on ur house iznt that bad luk or sum shit like that

[taburineagle]

sum shit m8b - but not here! :)