Saving for a rainy day
Most corvids will know tomorrow is not guaranteed. In fact, for any type of wildlife, the next hour is uncertain. This morning I had three fledging starlings being fed by their parents in my garden; in the evening I came across a fledgling starling in a sidewalk, two streets down, dead. The bird had clearly been attacked by either a cat, another bird or something else - his head was missing, but the body was intact. Gruesome, yes. Nature isn't pretty and cares nothing about our human morals and conventions. What we (humans) do to our wildlife in general is a lot worse. Nature gives as quickly as it takes away - most of us are too comfortable in our own lives to even know what this means exactly. Birds are geared to survive, and they do so in very challenging conditions. No wonder most learn and use survival techniques that ensure the sustainability of their family, and consequently of their species.
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| Cronus loves soaked cat kibble... and he hides it well from everyone - even from Rhea! (06/04/2021) |
Caching is one of such 'techniques', and consists on hoarding (and subsequently, hiding) food. Foxes do this. Squirrels do this. No wonder crows do this as well - in fact most corvids do it. Sometimes this is really well achieved (and the goods are 'stored' safely), other times not so much (and the goods end up ransacked by others). Individual crows will have their own hiding process, and they will also have their own little hides within their territory. If you see a crow picking up some grass only to throw it in a bunch on top of more grass, you are likely seeing the end of the hiding process. Don't let them know you saw that!
With the exception of the naïve juveniles, most crows will know how to fool others by pretending to hide the food in one place - only to then keep it in their crop and hide it in a completely different location. Unless the crow trusts you, they will not really let you know where they are hiding their food. And they do the same with their nests - corvids are the masters of deception - I have seen magpies with sticks go in a certain direction, and then all of a sudden change direction as soon as they notice I am looking at them. Clever. They know humans are not trustworthy. Very few indeed can be considered allies - I'd like to think I am one of the very few.
If there's something to take out of all this is the fact that resources are an important part of survival, and we should look after them. Our natural resources are dwindling. We won't be able to sustain our life in this planet without a more symbiotic relationship with nature and its living beings.
'The Earth is what we all have in common.'
(Wendell Berry)
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