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Crow tree

 

 

It makes more sense to mention where we will not meet hooded crows: large bog and marsh expanses and the heart of forest massifs.

 

Even city people notice the daily doings of the familiar birds. In the mornings nearby residents have a gathering somewhere like a social event, then they go out to search for food, around midday there is a rest period and active birds are almost not to be seen. Evening flights start a couple of hours before sunset. In cities roosting places are large deciduous trees in cemeteries and parks, in rural landscapes conifers that offer denser shelter are more appreciated.

 

Are hooded crows sedentary, vagrant or migrant birds? In August the young crows become independent, their life style becomes mostly like that of the crows that they keep company with. Contrary to common belief, “old crows“ and inhabitants of forest areas are more eager for migration – is it to make a drab country life more exciting? Young and urban birds are more stationary. As regards the latter, it is understandable, as followers of humans the dining table is better secured.

 

In October migrants from the North and East are noticeable and they go on arriving until permanent frost. The winter number of hooded crows in Estonia is estimated at a couple up to four hundred thousand individuals. East Finland crows migrate here or even further south; the western Finlanders migrate southwards by way of Sweden..

 

The two-coloured – black and grey – and highly intelligent bird is familiar to all. The beak and legs of hooded crows are black; eye colour of adults however is dark brown but greyish-blue for young birds (this has been noted in other bird species too).

 

Researchers judge both parrots and crows to be extremely teachable and clever, based on a wide range of different tests and experiments.

 

A little too about „white“ crows: precisely on urban crows white feathers have been noted more often than in nature. As cause a monotonous and low-quality diet of the growing chicks has been brought forward. It can certainly be stated that white feathers are weaker, and the individuals with white wing feathers poorer flyers.

 

This morning fifty crows held council  in two large maples in the Tallinn suburb of Pelgulinn on what to do next. It seems that they were recently arrived migrants because these trees have not until now been any particularly large crow gathering places.

 

See hooded crow observations: LINK