How many weeks do crow eggs hatch? Hoodie crow: how long does it live, what does it eat and where does it live?

This type of bird, such as hooded crows, belongs to the genus crow, family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, phylum Chordata.

Hoodie- This is one of the bird species belonging to the genus crow. As a rule, the black and hooded crow are classified as subspecies of the same type, since they differ only by its color. These types of crows can be crossed with each other and raise completely healthy chicks.

Characteristics of the gray crow

What is a gray crow? It is not difficult to guess that the color of this bird is gray. The top of her head is dark, her legs are black. On average, body length can reach 50 cm, weight - approximately 500 grams. Usually, the hooded crow looks slightly larger than the rook. Its wingspan reaches a meter. The beak is high, curved and strong. Juveniles are usually darker than their ancestors, have dull blue eyes and a pink beak. Makes sounds like a hoarse "carr". It moves along the ground with large and clumsy steps. Sensing a dangerous situation, he begins to gallop.

Crows are very active and vindictive birds. They can remember the dog that offended them a year ago and attack it in packs. Sometimes gray individuals can recognize as the offender fur hat person. The worst enemy of this bird is the eagle owl, which kills them at night while they sleep.

When cold times come, birds fly away for the winter to colder warm regions and, after the cold weather ends, they return. Those crows that remain for the winter find prey in ponds and forests.

How long does a gray crow live? This question is quite relevant, since there are myths that they can live about 300 years. However, this is absolutely not true. This bird can live 20-30 years, but there are exceptions. There are claims that among these birds there are long-lived people who can survive twice their average age of death.

The habitat of the gray crow is quite extensive:

• Central and Eastern Europe;
• Asia;
• Western Siberia.

The place of residence is chosen as follows:

• Forests;
• Landfills;
• Fields;
• Small villages;
• Villages.

The abundance of people does not frighten her at all, on the contrary, it provokes her. Deprive summer residents of the berries and vegetables they grow? Yes, easily!

Diet and daily routine of the gray crow

This is probably common bird species, which eat absolutely everything: from food in garbage cans to rodents and fruits. The menu of an adult bird consists of various small rodents, beetles, worms, birds, food waste, carrion, eggs, fruits and grains.

They obtain food for themselves in completely different ways. They are very inventive. Cases have been observed when an adult female came across a walnut and brought it to the road. After the car runs over the nut, it eats it. Callous bakery products crows soak in puddles.

Often people witness how a flock gray birds stuck around a trash can or landfill. Birds can carry leftover food from there to a more secluded place, which is why disorder and chaos remain near garbage containers.

For the love of smaller birds and rodents, the raven called bird of prey . She is not averse to feasting on squirrels and hares living in forests and parks. Also, the diet of this gray bird includes fish and small seagulls.

The daily life of these gray birds begins with their awakening. Even before dawn they gather in flocks and begin to fly. They gather on some huge tree and then scatter across the fields in search of food. By lunchtime they return to the tree, take a short nap, and then go back in search of food. Crows spend the night in entire flocks, and may be joined by jackdaws and rooks. They usually spend the night in cemeteries and parks.

Reproduction of hooded crows

Reproduction, as a rule, occurs at 2-5 years of age. The maximum age for incubating and laying eggs is 20 years.

The bird builds nests in trees and buildings. The pair builds a new nest each time. The mating season, which begins with the arrival of spring, preceded by mating games of the couple, somersaults in the air, swinging on wires, as well as the performance of figures by males aerobatics in the sky.

Usually crows' nests are located close to each other. Despite the fact that individuals of these birds love to feed on landfills, they will never build a nest in any dirty place. Parents are very sensitive to environmental issues and the health of their future children.

Around March-April, the parents begin to build a nest. It is built from hay, branches, rags, and various pieces of iron. Hoodie crows lay two to six bluish-green eggs with dark spots. Moreover, those crow eggs that are laid first will much more intensely colored than the latter. While incubating the chicks, the male is busy getting food for himself and his partner.

During incubation, strange actions of the mother bird were noticed: she almost does not sit quietly on the eggs, every now and then she spreads her wings and stands on her feet. These actions are associated with ventilation of the nest.

The chicks hatch after 20-35 days. Initially, they are completely helpless and need constant care and regular feeding. It is noteworthy that the baby chick is born first. The mother also begins to get food for the chicks. The crows are guarded by their parents in turns. The most popular food for chicks is eggs, which are stolen by the parents of the crows. Hooded crows also kidnap the chicks of other birds to feed their own.

In mid-June, the chicks begin to fly out of the nest. At first they are with their parents, who feed them. In July, the chicks begin to live their full lives.

How to have a crow at home

IN modern world You can see unusual animals in people. More and more often, people keep a crow in their house. However, keeping an adult crow that has already lived an independent life in the wild is a very big mistake.

But if a gray crow was tamed as a chick, then it will very quickly get used to its owner. Those who keep birds that are so unusual for their home note that crows are very smart and quick-witted. True, stealing something will not be difficult for her.

A crow that has lived in a house gets so used to it that when it is released, it can return home to its owner. You can tame crows even teach you to speak, however, this will require a lot of time and effort from the teacher. In order for the bird to remember the words, it is necessary to repeat them often and loudly.

It is not recommended to keep a crow in a cage because it loves to move. If a raven has lived its entire life in captivity, it cannot reproduce the sounds of its fellow tribesmen. But he will easily catch and reproduce all the sounds that he hears in the house.

A raven chick should be tamed when it is a maximum of 2-3 months old. An adult bird will be very difficult and almost impossible to tame. After a few years, the bird will want to leave the house and fly away. If she was raised properly, she will feel great in the wild; if not, she will die.

It is worth considering that when taming a bird such as a crow, you should pay a lot of attention to it for several months. And even then, when the bird grows up, it needs the attention of its owner. The owner will have to devote at least a couple of hours to his new pet.

Material costs, having such unusual bird, will be bypassed. The only thing that will require money is to furnish her home. A gray crow can live with a person its entire life. Lifespan domesticated hooded crow not much different from the life expectancy of the wild. But, due to the fact that a domesticated crow does not waste its energy searching for prey, it can live several years longer than its wild friend. The owner only needs to carefully study the diet of the gray crow and she will please him with her long life.

This beautiful and proud bird can truly become a true friend. Her intelligence exceeds that of a dog or cat and is comparable to the abilities of a horse or dolphin. A raven can, for example, use a stick to get food placed next to the cage. It will also strengthen dry bread by soaking it in water. This bird is capable of throwing stones into a narrow vase until water becomes available for it to drink.

How not to confuse raven and crow chicks?

However, instead of the expected raven, you may end up with a bird from the same family with a similar name - a crow. How to distinguish a raven chick from a crow? The raven is larger and has a wedge-shaped tail (the crow has a flat tail). The plumage on a raven's crop is tousled, while that of a crow is smooth. The color of a crow chick is the same as that of an adult bird. The crow “caws”, articulating correctly, but the raven makes a different sound - it clicks.

They also differ from each other purely in character: like a devoted knight and a pathetic thief. It is no coincidence that we used the word “knight” in the context of the name of the bird “raven”, because the British have been honoring and maintaining six ravens of the Tower Fortress for many centuries, since the time of King Charles II.

How to avoid misunderstandings by unexpectedly raising a crow? The answer is simple: either take a raven chick from a nursery, or buy from a seller with a good reputation.

We are far from thinking that in May you will be able to personally get into the thicket of the forest and pick up a three-week-old chick from a raven’s nest at a great height. Moreover, even if you accomplish such a feat, you will inevitably be attacked by his parents. And an adult raven, having accelerated in flight, as is known, with a blow of its beak may well kill a fox. Obviously, it is wiser for the future owner of the chick to avoid such injuries.

Therefore, we direct you to purchase poultry based on the ad. The market price of a fledgling raven in Moscow markets is $100.

At what age is a raven chick adopted?

The raven is immensely devoted to only one person, whom he considers the owner, but he simply resigns himself to other cohabitants. He does not like small children and pets, being jealous of the owner.

For taming, it is best to take a bird that is two to three weeks old. Females are easier to train and less impulsive. We recommend them to beginners. The specialist distinguishes them at this age solely by external signs. Classes are conducted according to the classical method for birds of prey. If you buy raven chicks from a breeder, the cutoff age for purchase is 2-3 months of age.

After six months, the chick is identical in size to the adult bird. At this age, he is already difficult to train. And an adult raven, starting from the age of one year, is no longer suitable for living at home. By the way, a bird is considered to be fully formed only at the age of three.

A raven chick (you can see a photo of a three-week-old fledgling in the illustration) becomes a poultry thanks to persistent taming and training. Unfortunately, most people who decide to raise this bird act rashly, believing that the chick of a proud bird will turn out to be a stylized likeness of a parrot.

What should the owner of a raven chick be prepared for?

A raven is two in one: a predator and a talking, intelligent, loving bird. But if you want to become its owner, it is not enough for the raven chick to formally settle in your home. The owner should love him actively, tinker with him (i.e. teach, train, communicate) every day for two to three hours a day.

Raven is a friend. If you manage to train him, he will give you a lot of positivity, but also ask a lot from you. You, as the owner, will have to sacrifice... at least one room in the apartment for this friendship. Rest assured, after a year of keeping a crow in it, it will be prepared by the bird for repair.

A raven and a cage are incompatible things: an impulsive bird breaks feathers in it. If it is not possible to allocate a “private room” to the bird, you can equip an aviary (at least 2 x 2 m). It should include a container for bathing birds and toys.

When is it not advisable to have a raven?

It is contraindicated to have this bird in families with small children! It is not advisable to have other animals (dogs, cats) in the house. An adult raven is a bird with character. He will be jealous of their owner and even attack their “competitors.”

It is not enough for the owner of the bird to proceed solely from mercy when thinking about how to hatch a raven chick. It is equally important to ask yourself the second question: “Will I be able to raise a noble tame raven?”

It is not recommended to keep a bird at home without devoting time to training it. In this case, the raven does not feel the owner and begins to compete in its own way with the housemates, turning into a real punishment, practicing all sorts of dirty tricks:

• he will consider not only his room, but the entire apartment as his territory (torn documents, torn wallpaper, cornices, baseboards, household utensils, furniture);
• he will not be accustomed to relieve himself locally;
• he will attack your guests.

To release a bird that has not been trained by adult crows into the wild is the right way kill her. A domestic raven dies in the wild.

If, after reading our warning, you remain at your desire and continue to solve the puzzle “How to find a raven chick?”, then the following information is for you.

Foundling chicks

However, cases are different. Sometimes yellow-throated raven chicks are found fallen from the nest in April-May. Despite the height of the fall, some of them remain uninjured.

The raven chick is born in April. Being a week old, it even barely resembles a bird: its eyes are not open, its body is naked, and there is only fluff on its neck and head. Only in the second week do the tiny shafts of future flight feathers appear and the eyes open.

He is weak, his body is not covered with feathers. He is unable to maintain the balance of his body's heat. The feeding period for him during the first week is about one and a half hours during daylight hours. Defenseless and completely dependent on care, the raven chick (the photo at the beginning of the article captured this moment) periodically squeaks - this is how it begs for food.

However, the bird will begin to see only after three weeks.

Temperature conditions in the first week

If such a bird has fallen out of the nest, and after weighing all the pros and cons, you have made the desperate decision to raise it, then you will need to take a month's vacation to do this. In the first week you will have to set up an improvised home incubator. The raven chick is placed in a shoebox, which is lined with soft cloth at the bottom and covered with a thin linen on top. An incandescent lamp is turned on above the canvas. You need to ensure optimal heating:

• increase it if the bird is trembling;
• ventilate the box if she gasps for air.

Temperature regulation in the second week

After feathers appear (in the second week) temperature regime simplified. Just make sure during the day that the temperature in the room where the raven chick is located is maintained at approximately 20 degrees Celsius. The home incubator should still be heated at night.

As the fluff covers the entire body of the bird, it will be possible to remove the top sheet. Next, we will briefly consider the organization of nutrition for the raven chick, noting the importance of the presence of clean, non-chlorinated water in the enclosure and the addition of calcium (ground shells) to its food for the formation of full plumage.

Feeding a yellowthroat chick

The question of what to feed a raven chick at home has two different answers: for the yellowthroat and the fledgling.

The yellowthroat is fed using tweezers. Food is served from top to bottom. In this case, his reflex is triggered: he lifts his head and opens his beak. The food itself is a mash. If we are talking about nursing a sick chick, then it is fed from a syringe on which a rubber nozzle is put on.

• meat by-products (either pate or minced meat) - 40%;
• steamed finely cut flakes (crushed - wheat, barley, millet, oatmeal, corn, rye) - 30%;
• low-fat cottage cheese - 10%;
• finely chopped sprouted grain - 10%;
• grated apple, beets, carrots - 10%.

Feeding the fledgling chick

Let's imagine one of the recipes showing what to feed a raven chick that has become a fledgling. This is also a mash, only with a slightly different consistency, also suitable for adult birds:

• cereal flakes, boiled buckwheat or boiled brown rice - 30%;
• finely chopped meat by-products - 30%;
• low-fat cottage cheese - 20%;
• grated squeezed apple, carrots, beets - 10%;
• finely chopped sprouted grain - 10%.

Flying

Let's light this one up difficult question abstractly.

1. Raven chicks are taught to fly according to the classics of training birds of falcon, observing the necessary details (perch, glove, etc.). This technique is fully effective in our case.
2. When training a raven to fly, the likelihood of non-return should be minimized. Therefore, the area for implementation natural need Birds are better off choosing suburban fields. In a city with its traffic and noise, there is a high chance that an inexperienced raven will get lost.

We teach the raven chick to speak

If the parrot perceives the female timbre of the voice better, then the raven practically does not react to it. But hoarse, creaky masculine overtones are his element. He repeats not only the creaking, barking of a dog, and hoarse male laughter, but also shows good speech abilities. Similar abilities of another raven bird - the rook - were described by Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin in the story of the same name.

Where to start? Firstly, we recommend calling the raven that way; he could easily call himself, for example, Karl. Secondly, when entering and leaving, say standard phrases (“Hello”, “Bye”). Start by teaching your raven to say these words, then you can move on to phrases.

He remembers whole sentences no worse than a parrot, but pronounces them (this is confirmed by experts) more consciously. To do this, the owner should talk to him.

Instead of a conclusion

Agree, there is something special, noble in the crow - one of the most difficult birds to keep at home.

A crow chick is not a spineless toy, it is a friend for an adult, making adjustments to the rhythm of his life. But if you really manage to raise him as a friend, he will adequately respond to you with love and devotion for many years.

In April, when all the birds of the raven family have offspring, you can sometimes find babies that have fallen from the nest, but are alive, under the trees. What to do with such yellowthroats? It all depends on his age. If this is a crow chick, the photo of which you see, it will not be difficult to get it out. But if he is much younger (only with stumps of feathers or completely naked), saving his life is fraught with certain difficulties.

At this age, the crow chick is not yet able to independently maintain the body’s heat balance. The mother warms the children, and if the spring turns out to be hot, then she cools them down. Therefore, if you have decided on the almost hopeless task of saving a newborn raven, you need to build him an incubator as soon as possible. This could be a small box (for shoes or cake) or a pot. The inside of this container should be lined with a soft cloth. Make sure that the new socket is covered with a light cloth, and place an incandescent lamp above it. You can replace it with a heating pad placed at the bottom of the box, but this measure can only be temporary, since heating from below is inorganic for the raven. If the chick is shaking, increase the temperature. And if he opens his beak and breathes frequently, remove the outer fabric and reduce the heating.

What to feed a crow chick at this tender age? Adults are practically omnivores, but babies require baby food. It should consist of 30-50% grated carrots. This component is not only rich in carotene, but also helps give the food a sufficiently moist consistency so that the baby swallows a piece without choking. Another 30% is protein. Ground low-fat cottage cheese, boiled yolks, porridge. Minced fish and meat are very useful for babies. Baby formula added to the food will provide your child with vitamins, but we must not forget to add crushed raw egg shells to the food. This way the chick will fledge faster.

Second week of life

On the tenth day, the baby begins to develop the rudiments of future feathers. Thus, the raven chick no longer needs constant heating. Leave the lamp only overnight and turn it off during the day, but the temperature in the room should not be lower than +20 degrees C. Until the body is completely covered by the fluff, it is not recommended to remove the upper fabric from the nest. If in the first week you need to feed the chick every one and a half to two hours (with a break at night), then meals should become less frequent. You can teach the first command: emit a hoarse, loud “a” before feeding, so that the raven chick opens its beak.

When caring for ravens, it should be remembered that these birds defecate immediately during feeding, so before eating, the chick should be seated on a piece of newspaper. In the future, you need to accustom your pet to a place for the toilet. It is necessary to provide the bird with toys (preferably always new and shiny). Crows love to swim. Therefore, the chicks can be sprayed with a spray bottle, and when they learn to walk, give them a bowl of warm water for water procedures. Little yellowthroats should not be given water, as water may enter the respiratory tract. In the first two weeks, limit yourself to bread soaked in water or milk. Then, when the raven chick learns to drink, always provide him with a container of fresh water. If the bird gets used to you, you can teach it to talk and also take it for walks to stretch its wings.

Although there are two species of crows, the hooded crow and the black crow, taxonomists have recently tended to classify them both as one species, Corvus corone, with two subspecies: the hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix) and black crow(Corvus corone corone). They differ, in general, only in the color of their plumage: the black crow is covered, accordingly, entirely with black feathers, while the gray crow has gray feathers everywhere except the head, shirtfront, wings and tail. Apparently, black and hooded crows are capable of interbreeding and producing full-fledged offspring.

Crows are the most familiar species of the corvid family, since large concentrations of these birds are typical for the cities of central Russia. In cities, crows form mixed flocks with rooks and jackdaws. As a rule, they spend the night in the city center - in parks and on the roofs of buildings, and during the day they fly out to feed on the outskirts of the city and its environs.

Crows prefer to settle close to people - they have long become “city dwellers” in the full sense of the word. But in environmentally very unfavorable cities you can only find adult individuals and there are no crow nests at all - these smart and sensitive creatures hatch their chicks where the air is less polluted, although they still fly to the city to feed. Thus, the appearance of crow's nests is a sure sign of improvement environmental situation in industrial locality and most often coincides with a decline in production at large enterprises.

Crows are omnivores: they can eat rodents, do not miss an opportunity to feast on worms and beetles or catch fish, steal other people's eggs, find food in city dumps, and do not refuse carrion. However, they willingly dilute their diet with plant foods in the form of seeds, leaves and fruits. By removing rotting food waste from garbage bins and landfills, crows contribute to the spread of all kinds of infection.

The damage caused by the crow to birds and small animals clearly places it in the category of predators. Thus, the increase in the number of hooded crows has led to the fact that starlings have become rare in the parks and forest areas of Moscow, finches and goldfinches have disappeared, and other species of birds are visiting less and less often. The fact is that gray crow chicks in the first weeks of their life need high-calorie and easily digestible biological food. This becomes disastrous for the offspring of many other birds, since hatched eggs are the main food for crows. Even birds nesting in tree hollows, birdhouses and attics have a hard time, because the crow will not miss the opportunity to watch for grown-up chicks. It’s not for nothing that the crow received such a name - SHE’S A THIEF!

However, by eating mouse-like rodents and harmful insects, the crow brings undoubted benefits.

The mating season for crows begins closer to spring. The joint construction of a nest and the laying of eggs is preceded by exciting mating games, which are usually expressed in various aerobatics performed by males. Construction of family housing begins by the end of March. Crows build nests in the forks of the branches of large trees or on the roofs of houses. Construction material Not only natural components such as branches are used, but also wire, rags, pieces of cotton wool - crows widely use the benefits of civilization, of which they have become an integral part.

The usual clutch is 4-6 eggs, bluish-green speckled. Hatching the chicks is the prerogative of the mother; the father feeds his girlfriend during this period. After about 25-30 days, helpless chicks appear. Now both parents become breadwinners for them.

It is believed that during nesting crows behave extremely carefully, trying not to reveal the location of the nest with their presence. They also extremely dislike posing. If, for example, pigeons, seeing a camera, do not pay any attention to it, continuing to calmly go about their business, then crows instantly take off from their place, hastily moving away from the field of view. Crows with an amazing sense distinguish a person just walking from a nature lover who decided to watch them, and they rush to retreat away from such a naturalist.

As for keeping a tame crow in the house, it is an amazingly interesting and very intelligent pet. When raised by humans from a tender age, this bird becomes strongly attached to the family in which it grew up. By family we mean all the creatures living in the house, including animals. Of course, it is preferable for a crow to consider himself the head of “his” family. There is no need to keep a tame crow in a cage all the time. She can be quite independent, flying out for walks and returning home when she gets tired or hungry. Teaching a crow to use onomatopoeia is also not very difficult: it learns easily human speech, pronouncing the words loudly and clearly enough.

A well-known bird with gray body plumage and black head, wings and tail. There are no similar species of hooded crows. It is difficult to distinguish a male hoodie from a female outwardly, but males are on average slightly larger.

Young gray crows look like adults after leaving the nest, but their gray color is darker (especially on the neck) and has a brown tint, and black is without shine. There are age differences that can be seen when the bird is in your hands: young people have gray eyes, the oral cavity is white, in the second year of life the eyes are brown, the oral cavity is white or spotted; In adult hooded crows, the eyes are dark brown or almost black, the mouth cavity is gray or (in older ones) black. Crows weigh 430–740 g, length 44–51, wing 29.2–35.5, span 87–102 cm.

Lifestyle of Hooded Crows

The nesting habitats of hooded crows are extremely diverse; they only avoid areas completely devoid of woody vegetation, dense forests and mountains. Crows happily live next to humans, including in big cities, on the busiest streets.

They are territorial, the male defends the territory from pre-breeding time and “sings” regularly. The usual location of a crow's nest is in the crown of a tree, including on individual trees among a field, steppe, or swamp.

Nest construction begins in mid-latitudes in mid-March - early April. Both members of the couple construct them from twigs, carry earth into a tray, then line them with grass, wool, roots, moss, as well as rags, paper, etc. In cities and near roads, hooded crows often use wire instead of twigs. New nests are built every year, and material from old nests is often used.

In a clutch there are 1–7, more often 3–5 eggs of pale green, green, bluish-green color, with large spots of irregular shape, brown or olive color. Incubation begins with the 1st–3rd egg, less often after completion of the laying, and lasts 18–21 days. The female incubates, the male carries food to her in the nest and sometimes replaces her. When people appear at the nest, the crows start screaming and fly around.

Crow chicks have gray down, the oral cavity is light pink, with pinkish-white marginal ridges. They leave the nest already able to fly, at the age of 4–5 weeks. In the middle zone this is approximately the end of May - beginning of June. Broods of hooded crows remain in the nest area for about 2 weeks, then most of them move to other places.

Eating crows

Crows are omnivores, but prefer animal food. In nature, they eat carrion, catch all kinds of invertebrates and small vertebrates, and destroy nests ( characteristic feature in the “handwriting” of the gray crow is that, when destroying a nest, they usually pull out the bedding from it), dig out rodent holes, muskrat huts, i.e. behave like small predators, and are very smart and inventive in their hunting methods. Near humans, crows feed mainly on garbage.

Crow breeding

Crows begin to breed at the end of the 2nd–3rd, or even the 5th year of life. Pair formation occurs in winter, with aerial games, chases, and somersaults in the air. Adult crows apparently live in permanent pairs all their lives and nest annually in the same area. However, not all birds are equally attached to a place and their mate. Young crows that do not nest spend the summer wandering, flying outside the nesting area. The longest known lifespan of the hooded crow is 19 years.