Developmental stage of a hooded crow. Where, how do crows sleep and live?

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

The hooded crow 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 it like? hoodie? 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 warmer climes 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 centenarians that 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 a 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 life. 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 boy 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 get 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.

About crows

Crows in Moscow

According to last year's census, there were 80 thousand nests in Moscow, that is, about 160 thousand adult crows. And in winter there are even more of them.

Crows from the suburbs and from more distant territories will come to Moscow for the winter; thus, crows ringed in Moscow in winter were found near Syktyvkar and Kirov.

Crows like being close to humans; in cities they find a lot of food in numerous garbage dumps and landfills. And in winter the city is also warmer and there are no predators. So, mass daily flights of corvids in winter have become established in Moscow: in the morning they fly off to work, fly to garbage dumps and landfills in the suburbs, and in the evening the crows return to spend the night in Moscow.

In clean Western European cities there are not so many crows. Even in the south of Russia, in resort towns, there are very few of them. Changes in the number of crows in the last decade are indicative. In difficult years, Muscovites buy much less food, and the flow of food waste into garbage dumps and landfills is reduced. The number of crows in the city was reduced by a third. Now the number of crows has increased again.In large urban flocks, crows have become more aggressive; they are not even afraid of some predators.Most people treat crows well. In the city, crows cease to perceive humans as a potential source of danger: they are no longer afraid of people.

The crow is a smart bird.Lately, even scientists, who by their position are supposed to doubt everything, are beginning to believe in this. And as for those people who had these birds at home, they have no doubts about the crow’s intelligence, and never have had any.It’s somehow not accepted to study crows seriously, isn’t it prestigious, or what? Maybe that’s why we missed the fact that crows have become much more literate in recent years.How many new types of packaging for various products have people invented in recent years? The crows have mastered them all.It was believed that the crow - a bird of open spaces - does not like a roof over its head, and will not visit garbage containers if such mini-houses are built for them.3-4 years have passed, and the crows are no longer at all embarrassed to visit such “canteens”.

Janitors began collecting garbage in plastic bags and leaving piles of these bags on the lawns. Crows, as soon as people leave, fly up to these bags. First - inspection. Then, with one blow of the beak, the bag is pierced in the right place, the package of interest to the crow is brought out into the light, and opened. There is food - good. No - research into the bags continues.
But this is not the only thing where the crow’s mind is noticeable. Crows have learned to take advantage of other advances. Have you ever wondered where birds disappear from Moscow streets during severe frosts? Not only crows, but also jackdaws and pigeons? In the morning, as always, they are in the trash heaps, but then? It seems that in the afternoon they suddenly disappeared. Or it has become several times smaller. What's the matter? The crow knows where it is warmer.
It's simple. Our Moscow houses have exhaust ventilation in every apartment - in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the toilet - and warm air from our apartments goes through ventilation shafts to the roof, where caps are installed to protect the shaft from rain and snow. It is in these oases that whole families of crows sit, and they choose caps where the air is warmer. They spend the night there, and the frosts are no longer scary for them.

The nest is a deception.

Moscow crows began to differ from country crows even in the method of constructing nests. The village crow's nest is carefully hidden from the eyes of people and birds of prey, and is located at a very decent distance from the nests of other crows. Moscow crows do not have this opportunity, and in every yard where there are tall trees, you can count up to 10 crows’ nests. But not all nests are real; crows have learned to build decoys - false nests that distract the attention of enemies (and relatives) from the main nest.All they are located within line of sight from the main nest. These nests are smaller, less dense, and probably serve to deceive enemies. There are, however, cases when a crow transfers or transfers crows to one of these nests if there is a threat to the main nest.And since there are few places for nesting, the boundaries of such areas are carefully guarded. And until the chicks leave the nest, not a single stranger will fly through the area unnoticed.

The nest is real - the tail sticks out.

Surprisingly, but true, the division of nesting areas takes place without fights or major quarrels. At the end of February or at the beginning of March, crows gather in a flock (about 50 heads), and begin the crow market, which lasts 2 - 3 days, sometimes does not stop at night. After this, the pairs occupy the nesting sites. It's like a meeting of members of a housing cooperative.

Having occupied nesting sites, crows begin building new nests and renovating old ones. Nests are built thoroughly, the same nest is used for several years, and it is occupied by the same pair.

The social life of crows is not limited to the division of territory. Any threat to one member of crow society provokes a reaction from the entire society. An alarm signal given by one crow at the sight of a falcon, raven or other predator immediately raises a dozen and a half to two crows into the air, and the enemy is immediately driven out of the territory.

But crows practically do not fight among themselves. There has long been a proverb among people that a raven cannot peck out a crow’s eye; it is also true for gray crows.
Most likely, this is due to the fact that even a minor scratch caused by a beak that is not too clean can be fatal to a fighter. Therefore, they use threatening shouts, jumps, or, if it happens in the air, a kind of “fighting dances” in which the art of aerobatics is demonstrated.

In Moscow, the crow nests earlier than all other birds. The snow has not yet melted everywhere, but tails are becoming visible in the crows' nests. This means that the crows are already hatching their eggs.

There are usually 2 eggs in crow nests, rarely 3 or 4. The female hatches them, and at this time the male is on duty to guard the nest and replaces the female only when she needs to eat and exercise. However, eggs laid so early may die if winter unexpectedly returns and reminds of itself with snowfalls or frost. Then the crows sit, ruffled, near the nests, as if grieving over the lost eggs, and only after 3 weeks they start all over again.

Incubation does not end with the appearance of the chicks, because The chicks hatch naked, and the weather at this time is still quite cool. Therefore, the male has to bear the main responsibility for obtaining food. The female does the feeding. It is she who, at the right moment, calls the male with food to the nest with a calling cry, takes the food and distributes it among the chicks. The male immediately flies off in search of a new portion. Having obtained food, he again settles nearby and waits to be called again. If he failed to obtain food at the right time, the calling cries become louder and more persistent, and, having received food, the crow croaks displeasedly, as if reprimanding the male.

After about 2 weeks, the crows' feathers have already grown sufficiently, and then both parents continuously carry and carry food, and so on until the moment when the chicks finally leave the nest.

In the life of crows, this is one of the most dangerous and crucial moments. The chicks, despite their very decent size, have absolutely no experience of communicating with the outside world, have no idea who is an enemy and who is not, where to get food, how to wait out bad weather - and, in addition, they almost cannot fly.

More recently, the number of surviving chicks was such that there was no noticeable increase in the number of crows. What happened?

Just 3 - 4 years ago, all Moscow newspapers published terrible articles - crows are attacking people!, an invasion of crows!, crows are threatening children!... For the last 2 years, such articles have disappeared.

Maybe there were suddenly fewer crows, or people somehow learned to avoid collisions? Nothing happened, the people are still the same. But the crows have become wiser. All these “attacks” occurred only when the crows, who could not really fly, left the nests, and their parents were forced to protect their chicks sitting on the ground if people came too close to them. After all, we must admit that people are far from harmless and pose a real danger to helpless chicks sitting on the ground.

Crows, not humans, have found a way to avoid such collisions. Lately you can see how crows, having left the nest, move along balconies or trees to the roofs of houses, first to the lower ones, then to the high ones.

It is not so easy for crows to fly to the roof, but their parents call them there, showing them where to fly and where they can rest. There, on the roofs, they learn to fly without threat from people, dogs and cats. The result is that there are more crows and fewer collisions.
Crows are social birds, but not flocking ones. They can unite in flocks for some specific purposes: when it is necessary to drive out an enemy, when they fly to feed somewhere far away, during overnight stays in winter, etc.... However, such flocks are not something constant, the number of members of the flock and its composition changes every time.

The crow begins laying eggs very early, when the nests have not yet had time to dry out and warm up in the sun. But you can’t lay eggs in a cold and wet nest. So the crow has to dry the nest with its own body. He will sit on a wet mat, sit as long as he can, and then jump off. He’ll sit down again, sit still, and jump off again. And if there is little time left before laying eggs, then he calls the male for help - they say, come on, and you try too.


Some “dads” conscientiously participate in all these troubles, but there are also those, especially among the young, who pretend that all this does not really concern them. In general, at this time, male crows are clearly distinguishable from females. They walk around the lawns with such a proud look in their “caps” that it is simply impossible to confuse them with females. And they retain this proud appearance until the raising of the chicks is completed.

By the time the chicks begin to fly well enough, they can already be taught to independently obtain food and master the world, the female sits on the eggs again. Therefore, all worries about training the young fall on the male. And he, like an experienced teacher, supervises his children, without once again interfering in their activities, but if necessary, he will show how to deal with unfamiliar packaging that contains food, and, of course, constantly monitors safety. Just a little bit and the alarm sounds. The danger has passed - the signal again.

This training lasts a little more than two or three weeks. During this time, the crows manage to learn all the necessary skills, but even after this the training continues, although by this time the second brood has already appeared. Of course, older crows have almost no time left for training, but the crows continue to stay close to the nest, and adults, if necessary, provide them with help. And when the second brood grows up, the same story will repeat itself.
In the fall, when frosts begin, it will be difficult to distinguish the grown-up crows from adult crows.

Crow families winter together, spend the night together and feed together. Moreover, during feeding, the family hierarchy is strictly observed - first the old male feeds, then the female, then the young ones. But this is if feeding takes place on family territory. If they have to fly far away and in a large flock to feed, there is no such order, although seniority is observed here too.

A feathered inhabitant of modern megacities, the well-known hooded crow is a bird distinguished by its intelligence, capable of adapting to various conditions and urban situations. Many times everyone has probably watched a crow sitting on the road and pecking at something. If she sees an approaching car, no, she will not fly away, but will calmly and even importantly step aside, waiting for the car to pass, and quickly walk or skip back to the interrupted lunch.
How many funny situations have we seen with these birds? Here, for example, is such a case. The plant used waste synthetic rubber to waterproof flat block floors. A thin layer was used to cover the entire surface of the flat roof. Large swellings formed at the joints of the blocks, which gave good spring. The crows sat on them - fell, flapped their wings - rose. So they jumped on these bubbles, like on trampolines. Then, when they got tired of this activity, they decided to become curious about the structure of their trampoline and began to peck at these bubbles, violating the waterproofing.
What about crow games? They are also extremely entertaining. Crows are known to play on the sloping roofs and domes of churches. The crows take turns perching on the high spiers and crosses of churches. One sits, the other drives her away. Such a carousel can take a lot of crow's time. Another option for games is on the roof. When there is snow on the roofs, crows roll on it, sitting on their tails, somersaulting in it, rolling down, falling and rising onto their wings. And the spring games of crows? They play tag, chase each other, performing intricate pirouettes. How do crows care for their females? The male often offers the female a twig and a ribbon, and she pulls out the gift and waves it flirtatiously...

Crows are much faster than other birds in anticipating upcoming events and using them to their advantage in their lives. There is a well-known experiment by Professor L.V. Krushinsky. Behind a screen with a slot in the middle, a feeder with food moves on runners. The crows unmistakably go in the direction where the feeder has gone. For example, for pigeons this is an almost impossible task.
It has long been known that crows can count. They are able to distinguish the number of objects and marks within two dozen.
I collected material from many authors.

ORDER PASSERINS - PASSERIFORMES

Sem. Corvids - Corvidae

The gray crow is one of the most common birds in the Leningrad region. In anthropogenic landscapes it is widespread and occurs in all seasons of the year. In natural biotopes it is quite common in summer, but rare in winter.

The formation of pairs in most crows apparently occurs at the end of the second year of life, during the spring mating period. Established couples can persist for several years until the death of one of the partners. This is confirmed by observations of individually marked birds. For example, one of the ringed males nested in the same area for at least three years, and his female for at least two. After the death of the male (who was found dead not far from the nest), the same female remained paired with a new partner for another two years and reproduced in the same nesting area. Through this alternating replacement of partners, a territory suitable for nesting can be inhabited by crows for many years. In a garden on the Mendeleevskaya line in Leningrad, crows nested and raised chicks on the same group of trees for 27 years in a row, since 1946 [Malchevsky, 1974]. Currently, they still continue to nest in the same nesting area. A high degree of conservatism is also characteristic of crows nesting in natural biotopes.

Maintaining the constancy of pairs throughout the entire annual cycle undoubtedly contributes to the success of reproduction, since it creates mutual adaptation of the partners to their individual behavioral traits. This constancy is primarily ensured by the high degree of sedentism of adult crows. After the completion of the reproductive period, “autumn air games” contribute to maintaining the constancy of pairs. In the Leningrad region. they start around mid-September. If the weather is favorable, crows can actively mating even in November, as was observed, for example, in 1977, when many crows mated next to their nests, played in the air, threw and picked up dry leaves, etc. Judging by the mass of autumn air games, not only adult (already bred) crows take part in them, but also birds in the second year of life - one and a half years old (who have undergone a complete molt, but have not yet bred), as well as immature - young individuals (birds in post-juvenile plumage).

Elements of current behavior are periodically observed in winter, on sunny, relatively warm days. At the end of February, sexual activity of adult crows and second-year crows begins to increase rapidly. Their spring mating behavior is also becoming more and more noticeable. It manifests itself most fully in the second half of March - the first half of April. During this period, crows make various flights, accompanied by various cries. Sitting in trees or on the ground, they twitch their folded wings, open their tail feathers, spread their underparts, bend down and, rising, make special “squeezed” sounds. Sometimes the male sits close to the female, bows and at the same time “purrs” very quietly.

Apparently, not all two-year-old hooded crows find a mate and begin breeding. This has been proven for the European black crow.

Crows begin to occupy nesting areas relatively early. Visual observations and ringing data show that in some biotopes (especially in cities) many pairs of crows lead a sedentary lifestyle throughout the year, somewhat expanding their habitat area by winter period. Crows that nested in natural forest biotopes usually appear on their previous nesting sites no earlier than the second half of March. From August they begin to leave these areas and gradually move to anthropogenic landscapes with sufficient winter conditions food sources. Here they lead a sedentary or nomadic lifestyle.

The process of creating a pair and distributing to areas suitable for nesting lasts for about a month and continues at least until mid-April. This happens mainly because second-year birds (nesting for the first time) begin breeding later than older individuals who have previously bred.

In forest biotopes, far from settlements, crows mainly nest along the banks of water bodies, as a rule, not moving deeper into the forest more than 1 km. The distance between neighboring residential nests here is 0.5-1 km or more. The nesting density of this species in biotopes developed by humans can be extremely high. On the Pulkovo Heights (near Leningrad) there is an area where up to 40 pairs of crows nest annually on an area of ​​about 100 hectares. In some cases, residential nests are only 50 or even 20 m apart from each other.

Crows' nests are located on different breeds trees, but prefer conifers. Of particular interest in relation to the plasticity of nesting instincts are cases of crows nesting on metal supports of high-voltage power lines, noted, in particular, in Leningrad in the Sosnovsky forest park [Martynov, 1972], as well as in other places.

There is a direct relationship between the height of crow nests and the number of people visiting the territory in the Leningrad region. It is not always possible to trace. Of the 110 nests found on the Pulkovo Heights, 9 were at a height of less than 2 m, and 60% of the nests were no higher than 5 m. The average height was about 4 m. More than 10 years of observations in the southeastern Ladoga region, where crows do not experience any significant pressure from humans have shown that in coastal forests crows make nests on large pines and spruces, usually 12-15 m or more above the ground.

Old nests are rarely used, in about one case out of 10. Most birds prefer to build new nests. Construction begins with the base of the nest, which is made up of relatively thick branches. A “basket” is built on it, smeared from the inside with earth and covered with bast fibers. The tray consists of wool, various soft materials, less often of dry roots of herbs, feathers, etc. Wire is often used as a building material for crows, which is sometimes used in large quantities. One day a nest was found, half made of aluminum spoons and forks. The height of the nest base can reach up to 30 cm. The dimensions of the nests vary greatly: the height of the nest (without base) is in the range of 15-28 cm, the diameter is from 30 to 50 cm, the diameter of the tray is 17-22 cm and the depth of the tray is from 8 to 13 cm (25 slots).

The construction of the nest is usually started by both birds, but sometimes only by the male, who later becomes only a carrier of nesting material, and the initiative in construction passes to the female. Often the construction that has begun is interrupted and no longer continues: the nest is built anew, sometimes on the same tree. I had to observe how, after the death of several females killed by a goshawk while incubating clutches, the males alone brought new nests to the “base of the nest” stage, and in one case almost to the lining of the tray, but no further.

The duration of nest construction is determined mainly by the degree of sexual activity of individuals and weather conditions. The general pattern is this: the earlier construction begins, the longer it lasts.

Some years the crows began to collect construction material already from March 15-17. The latest almost completed nests were found on May 20-24. During repeated breedings, not a single case of laying eggs in the same nest was noted - a new one was always built, not far from the destroyed one.

The interval between completion of nest construction and egg laying usually does not exceed 2-3 days, but sometimes the first egg appears 5 or even 9 days after the end of nest building. Females lay one egg per day. Often, laid eggs are stolen on the same day by neighboring crows, which can create the erroneous impression that there are breaks in egg laying. In urban conditions, crows begin laying eggs earlier than in rural areas. The earliest date for the start of breeding of the gray crow known for Leningrad is April 3 (1954), the latest date is May 24-25. Observations have shown that in the Leningrad region. The egg-laying period for hooded crows can last 53 days. According to average long-term data (392 observations), 60% of all clutches appear before April 20 inclusive, i.e., during the first 18 days, and 40% in the next 35 days. After the destruction of the earliest clutches, the birds begin their second attempt to reproduce no earlier than 10 days later. Thus, in years when crows begin breeding at normal times, almost all clutches encountered before April 15-20 can be considered the first.

In natural forest biotopes, the breeding season for crows, as a rule, begins no earlier than mid-April. Until April 20, no more than 30% of clutches usually appear here.

The timing of reproduction noticeably depends on the weather and food conditions of spring, which sometimes leads to significant annual differences even in the same (insignificant in area) territories [Shutenko, 1979].

The number of eggs in complete clutches varies from 3 to 6. In the period until April 20, the clutch size averages 4.7 (79 cases), from April 21 to April 30 - 4.5 (33), and in May - 4.0 ( 32 cases) eggs. Clutch sizes and morphometric characteristics of eggs are subject to great variability and can serve as an indicator of the degree to which a given year is favorable for reproduction [Shutenko, 1979].

Females begin incubation immediately after laying the first egg. Males do not have brood spots, but some of them participate to a small extent in incubating clutches, and, according to the observation of A.P. Shkatulova, even in warming downy chicks.

Approximately every third clutch of crows contains eggs with dead embryos or unfertilized eggs. In different years, from 12 to 17% of such eggs are found.

The main cause of egg death is cannibalism. The level of cannibalism is directly dependent on the total number of breeding and non-breeding crows, as well as on feeding conditions. In one of the territories, with the same nesting density (40 pairs per 100 ha), in years with different feeding conditions, from 39 to 60% of clutches died due to cannibalism [Shutenko, 1979].

The weight of a newborn crow is on average 74.3% of the weight of an unhatched egg. Chicks emerging from the first two eggs weigh on average 14.5 g, from the third and fourth - 13.5, from the fifth and sixth - 12.3 g. The greatest differences in weight are found in the period from the 14th to the 22nd day of life. The difference between chicks of the same age sometimes reaches 270 g. last days Before departure, the mass of crows is leveled. The mass of fledglings is on average 12% lower than the mass of young crows, which are already capable of free and maneuverable flight. Natural flight from nests occurs at the age of 30-33 days (Fig. 131).

Rice. 131. Hooded crow (Corvus comix) at a nest with chicks.
Neighborhoods of Leningrad, Lakhta, May 1969. Photo by K. N. Bobrov.

The average mortality of nesting chicks is about 20%. They are stolen from their nests relatively rarely. The main waste occurs due to the large prolongation of the hatching period, as a result of which the younger crows lag behind in development and ultimately die from exhaustion or are crushed by stronger brothers.

Immediately after departure, many fledglings end up directly on the ground. Only after 2-5 days do they begin to “fly up” and climb the trees [Shutenko, 1978]. In the first 5-10 days after departure, the fledglings stay hidden in an area usually not exceeding 1-4 hectares. From about 40 days of age, the young begin to gain experience in finding food and, trying to follow their parents, gradually expand their habitat. At the age of 50 days they begin to forage on their own. Already 30 days after departure, many broods move away from the nests at a distance of up to 1.5 km. From this time on, some broods end their sedentary lifestyle and begin family migrations. At the end of July - beginning of August, young crows at the age of 80-90 days finally switch to an independent lifestyle and separate from their parents. Separate broods begin to connect. At the same time, some young crows continue to stay in the nest area even at the end of August, at the age of about 100 days. This difference in behavior is observed even among chicks of the same brood. For example, out of four chicks belonging to the same brood that we ringed, three chicks ended up at a distance of 20 km two months after leaving the nest, and one continued to remain in the same area.

Already in early September, some young crows' migrations turn into pronounced migrations. The flocks become larger, their movements acquire a certain direction, and the speed of movement increases. The greatest migration activity occurs in October. By the end of November, autumn migration gradually ends.

As the results of banding show, young individuals settle for the winter in places that vary in distance from their nests. Some remain to winter in the areas of their birth, which is more typical for young crows born in “urban-type” biotopes.

On the outskirts of Leningrad, crows begin to concentrate as early as September. The increase in numbers occurs due to the settling of migrating flocks, as well as due to the concentration of local individuals. In October, as a result of a new arrival of migrating flocks, the number of crows in the city increases sharply, but some individuals begin to move to less populated areas. In November, the concentration of crow flocks continues. At the same time, the mobility of young birds also increases. The increased territorial mobility of young crows, observed in November (Table 16), is explained by the need to search for suitable winter territories. By the end of November, the distribution of crow flocks generally ends, the degree of attachment of individual individuals to certain feeding territories increases and, without changing significantly, remains until March [Shutenko, Panteleev, 1981]. However, it is impossible to talk about complete sedentary behavior of immature young crows even in winter. A significant part of them constantly moves from one winter flock to another, and therefore their feeding and roosting places change. Some young crows, ringed and painted with special dyes on the territory of the Leningrad Zoo, were found in new feeding areas during December-February, up to 12 km away from the ringing site. There are also more significant winter movements, over a distance of up to 20 km, for example: zoo (December 2, 1978) - Pulkovo (February 17, 1979); Zoo (December 31, 1978) - Strelna (February 3, 1979). Observations of the daily feeding movements of flocks of crows showed that the number of individuals in flocks during morning migrations may greatly differ from the number of crows returning to spend the night. Thus, even in December-February, there is a constant exchange of individuals between winter flocks of crows.

At the beginning of March, crows' spring migration activity increases and their attachment to winter habitats sharply decreases. Since March, crows have left Leningrad and, as the results of ringing have shown, head to the east of the Leningrad region, to the Karelian Isthmus, to the KASSR, to the Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions. Spring migrations in the second half of May turn into feeding migrations, alternating with sedentism in the most favorable places, where flocks of non-breeding individuals linger for a long time. This behavior continues throughout the late spring and summer periods. However, some of the immature crows do not leave the winter territories in the summer. For example, one of the crows was captured at the zoo on September 15, October 4, March 1, March 29, May 19 and June 20. Two young individuals, painted in winter, were encountered on the territory of Leningrad in July. Thus, even among young birds there are individual individuals that do not show a desire to move in all seasons of the year, lead a sedentary lifestyle and, with the onset of maturity, nest near their places of birth.

Some crows migrate from their wintering grounds to where they were born. For example, a bird ringed as a chick in the south-eastern Ladoga region on May 26, 1979, was caught in Leningrad on November 27 of the same year, and on April 28, 1980 - 100 m from the nest in which it was born. There are other examples of this kind. However, such cases are the exception rather than the rule. Most young immature crows, after spring migrations, summer and autumn migrations, move considerable distances from their place of birth. Leaving their wintering places in the spring, they sometimes fly very far from them, and in different directions. And a year later, with the onset of maturity, they often nest in places very distant from their native nest. Thus, young crows that were ringed at the age of 7-10 months during the winter in Leningrad, later, at the age of 2 years and older, ended up at the nesting grounds not only in Leningrad and the Leningrad region, but also far beyond its borders, sometimes at a distance up to 1500 km, for example in the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Of the 2,000 young immature crows ringed at wintering grounds in Leningrad, only 6 birds were recaptured in subsequent winters. Most likely these were individuals of local origin. It seems that the majority of young crows in their second year of life do not return to the places where they wintered a year ago. One young crow, who spent the winter in Leningrad, ended up in the Arkhangelsk region the following winter, and the other in the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Fig. 132). Apparently, most crows behave like adults in their second year of life. They do not migrate in the fall in flocks of young birds, but gradually move to the nearest places favorable for wintering. Some of them only expand their summer territories for the winter. In the spring, most crows of this age form pairs, occupy nesting sites and begin breeding.

Rice. 132. Meeting places of immature young hooded crows (Corvus cornix),
ringed during the winter in Leningrad.
1 - meetings during the period of spring migrations and summer movements; 2 - meetings during the autumn movements; 3 - places of finds during wintering periods; 4 - meetings of adult individuals during the breeding season (data obtained jointly with M. S. Galitsky and O. P. Smirnov);
5 - place of ringing.

Like other corvids, the hooded crow is omnivorous, however, animal food - various invertebrates, rodents, small birds and carrion - forms the basis of its diet. During the nesting period, she feeds the chicks mainly with insects - beetles, butterfly caterpillars, etc. The crows also receive eggs and chicks various birds, mostly singers. Crows especially often visit colonies of field thrushes, stealing eggs and chicks from nests. We also had to observe crows destroying the nests of white-browed birds, finches, and gray flycatchers. We also know of cases of pecking of clutches of mallards, teal, and lapwings. One of the known nests of the gray crane located close to Leningrad was also devastated by the crow. In the latter case, according to Yu. B. Pukinsky, the crow, having made large holes in the shells of both eggs, pulled out the embryos from them and left the empty eggs lying in place. The predatory activity of crows in the summer is largely facilitated by humans, whose actions these birds constantly monitor. By scaring birds from their nests and causing them alarm, people thereby provide the crow with the opportunity to discover a brood or nest.
In autumn, crows, in addition to animal food, eat plant foods. At this time, seeds of wheat, barley, peas and other cultivated plants were found in their stomachs. In suburban and city parks, there have also been cases of crows eating acorns that they tore from branches.

In autumn, the favorite feeding place for crows is the shores of water bodies, where these birds feed on various waste, dead fish, and also toothless bivalve molluscs. At the same time, individual individuals sometimes amaze with their resourcefulness: they seem to demonstrate elements of intelligent activity. Having taken a mollusk in its beak, the crow vertically flies up to a height of 15-20 m and throws it onto the coastal pebbles. The crow repeats these actions until the shell opens or breaks. This behavior of crows was observed by A. S. Malchevsky and Yu. B. Pukinsky in different years and only on the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland.

In winter, many crows feed on the ice of reservoirs, for example, on the Neva, on the Finnish Hall. and Lake Ladoga, picking up the remains of fishermen’s breakfasts and small fish. Closer to spring, in March-April, many of the crows are engaged in purposeful mowing in the fields. In this case, the birds apparently actively use their hearing. In the spring and summer, when puddles appear on the roads and streets, you can see how crows hunt for sparrows: watching the bathing individual and waiting until its plumage is sufficiently wet, the crow chases the bird taking off with difficulty. All this indicates greater plasticity in the behavior of the gray crow when searching for food.

Amazing bird raven. Thanks to its ability to adapt to almost any living conditions, it has spread throughout the planet, and its gloomy silhouette in the sky is familiar to every person. For some, the raven is a harbinger of misfortune, and for others it is a symbol of wisdom and patience. His image is widespread in mythology, fiction, music and cinematography.

For centuries, people have adopted the raven as a pet, noting the bird's unusual intelligence. At some point, their population on the planet decreased greatly, but today the common raven has been taken under protection by many countries and its numbers have begun to grow again.

Description of the raven

The Latin name of the bird is Corvus corax. The species was first described by naturalist Carl Lynaeus in 1758. Today, ornithologists identify up to 11 subspecies of raven, but the differences between them in terms of phenotype are minimal and are determined by the area of ​​habitat rather than by genetic characteristics.

Raven refers

• kingdom - animals;
• type – chordates;
• class - birds;
• order - passerines;
• family - corvids;
• genus - crows;
• species - common raven.

The bird's closest relatives are the American white-necked crow, piebald and desert brown-headed raven, while in appearance it is most similar to the rook.

Appearance

Raven is the largest representative of passerines. Its body length reaches 70 cm, and its wingspan is up to 150 cm. The weight of the bird can be 800-1600 g, however, it is not uncommon for ornithologists to describe ravens with a body weight of up to 2 kg. The difference in length and weight depends on the habitat - the colder the climate, the larger the individuals living in it. That is, the largest representatives of ravens can be found in northern latitudes or in the mountains.

This is interesting! A distinctive feature of the raven is its massive sharp beak and feathers protruding like a fan on the bird’s throat. In flight, a raven can be distinguished from others by its wedge-shaped tail.

Male ravens are larger than females. It is almost impossible to distinguish them by color - both the female and the male are black with a metallic tint. The body is blue or purple on top and green underneath. Young animals are characterized by matte black plumage. The bird's legs are powerful, with large, curved black claws. If necessary, both they and the wide curved beak will become a weapon for attacking the enemy.

Lifestyle and intelligence

Unlike urban gray crows, the common crow is a forest dweller and prefers old coniferous forests. It lives in isolated pairs, only by autumn forming small flocks of 10-40 individuals in order to fly to a new place in search of food. At night the bird sleeps in its nest and spends the whole day hunting. If necessary, one flock can organize an attack on another and recapture the territory within which it will obtain food.

This is interesting! Birds prefer to nest in the forest, however, in the winter they like to move closer to people, for example, to city dumps or cemeteries. There they have a better chance of finding something to eat and surviving the cold.

Crow - smart bird. It has the same brain to body percentage as . Scientists even claim that they have intelligence. To confirm this fact, many experiments were conducted, giving the bird the opportunity to reveal its mental abilities. One of the most visual tests was based on Aesop's fable "The Crow and the Jug." The birds were placed in a room where there was a pile of pebbles and a narrow vessel with worms that swam in a small amount of water.

The birds could not freely get to the delicacy, and then intelligence came to their aid. The crows began throwing stones into the vessel, thereby raising the water level to reach the worms. The experiment was repeated four times with different birds and they all coped with the task - to get to the food. At the same time, the birds not only made rash actions, they threw pebbles until they managed to reach the worms, choosing larger stones, realizing that they could displace more water.

The crow language has also been studied by scientists. It was suggested that croaking is not just a chaotic noise, but a real conversation, and far from primitive. It would be too loud to call it a language, but scientists have come to the conclusion that ravens have something like dialects that change depending on their habitat. Another fact that proves the presence of intelligence in these birds is memory, passed on from generation to generation.

Just one bird killed by farmers can cause a flock to migrate. Crows will remember for a long time the house or area where danger arose and will try with all their might to avoid appearing near it. Another object of attention was the bird's inhibitory control, or rather the ability to control instinctive impulses for the sake of rational behavior. Crows were offered opaque tubes with holes containing food.

When they learned to find it accurately, the pipes were replaced with transparent ones. Using self-control, the birds had to extract the food without trying to get it directly by breaking through a transparent wall. Needless to say, they successfully completed this test. This endurance helps the raven wait for hours for food without exposing itself to unnecessary danger.

How long do crows live?

The lifespan of a raven is influenced by its habitat, so it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question of how long this bird lives. In urban birds and those living in wildlife The number of years lived will vary greatly.

This is interesting! The longer a raven lives, the more knowledge, skills and experience he will gain during his life. This bird does not forget anything and becomes smarter and wiser over the years.

Crows nesting within the city and regularly inhaling harmful fumes from industrial zones, as well as those that feed on scraps in landfills, rarely boast a life expectancy of more than 10 years. However, in urban areas birds have practically no enemies, therefore, under favorable conditions, a raven can live up to 30 years. In nature, a raven lives about 10-15 years. Rare individuals live to be 40, because every day the bird has to hunt for its own food and be exposed to many dangers, including attacks from other predators. A lean autumn and cold winter can cause the death of an entire flock.

Arabs believe that the raven is an immortal bird. Ancient records speak of individuals living for 300 years or more, and folk tales say that the raven lives nine human lives. Ornithologists treat such rumors with great doubt, however, they are confident that if favorable conditions are created for the bird in captivity, it could well live 70 years.

What is the difference between a raven and a crow

There is a common misconception among people that a raven is a male and a crow is a female of the same species. In fact, a raven and a crow are two different types belonging to the same corvid family. Such confusion in the Russian language arose due to the similar pronunciation and spelling of the names of birds. There is no confusion in other languages. For example, in English a crow is called "raven", and a crow sounds like "crow". If foreigners confuse these two birds, it is only because of their similar appearance.

This is interesting! Unlike ravens, ravens prefer to settle closer to humans. This makes it easier for them to get food for themselves. In the CIS countries, only the hooded crow is found, which is not difficult to distinguish by the color of its body.

The carrion crow, which can actually be mistaken for a crow, lives primarily in Western Europe and eastern Eurasia. The length and body weight of the bird is significantly inferior to the crow. Adult males weigh no more than 700 grams, and their body length does not reach 50 cm. There are differences in small details. The crow has no feathering on its crop, and during the flight you can notice that the bird's tail is smoothly rounded, while the raven's tail has a clear wedge-shaped ending.

The crow likes to gather in groups, while the raven stays in pairs or alone. Birds can also be distinguished by hearing. The caw of a raven is deep and guttural, sounds like “kaw!” or “arra!”, and the crow makes a nasal sound similar to a short “ka!” The two species do not get along with each other - often a flock of crows attacks a lone raven.

Area, distribution

The raven lives almost everywhere Northern Hemisphere . In North America it can be found from Alaska to Mexico, in Europe in any country except France, as well as in Asia and North Africa. The bird prefers to settle on sea ​​coasts, in deserts or even mountains. But most often the crow can be found in dense ancient forests, mainly spruce. In rare exceptions, the bird settles in city parks and squares.

In the northern part of Eurasia, the bird lives almost everywhere, with the exception of Taimyr, Yamala and Gadyn, as well as on the islands in the Northern Arctic Ocean. In the south, the nesting border passes through Syria, Iraq and Iran, Pakistan and northern India, China and Primorye Russia. In Europe, the bird's habitat has changed significantly over the last century. Raven left the Western and Central parts, meeting there rather as an exception. In North America, the bird also appears less and less often in the center of the continent, preferring to settle on the border with Canada, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.

The crow was once widespread in New England, the Adirondack Mountains, the Alleghenies and the coasts of Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the Great Plains region. Due to the mass extermination of wolves and bison, the dead animals of which the bird fed on, the raven left these regions. Compared with other corvids, the common raven is almost not associated with the anthropogenic landscape. It is rarely seen in large cities, although flocks of ravens have been spotted in parkland in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Riverside, as well as in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar.

In the second half of the 20th century, the crow began to be noticed in the north-west of Russia, for example, in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Lvov, Chicago, London and Bern. The reason why the raven does not like to settle near a person is associated not only with the unnecessary anxiety that is caused to the bird, but most likely with the lack of suitable habitats and the presence of competitors.

Raven diet

The diet of ravens is varied. They are predators by nature, but carrion plays a key role in their diet, mainly such large animals as deer and. For a long time, the bird is able to feed on dead fish, rodents and frogs. The raven is perfectly adapted to food-poor regions and eats everything it can catch or discover. In search of prey, it soars in the air for a long time, which is not typical for corvids. It hunts mainly game no larger than a hare, for example, various rodents, lizards, snakes, and birds.

Eats insects, shellfish, worms, sea ​​urchins and scorpions. On occasion, it can destroy someone else's nest by feeding on seeds, grains, and plant fruits. Crows often cause damage to farm crops. Another way of feeding is to be consumed by nesting eggs or young chicks. If necessary, the plant feeds on what a person leaves behind. A flock of ravens is found in almost every major city landfill.

Important! When there is an excess of food, the raven hides what is left from the meal in a secluded place or shares it with the flock.

During the hunt, the bird is very patient and is able to watch the hunt of another animal for hours in order to feast on the remains of its prey or track and steal the reserves it has made. When there is food abundance, different individuals living nearby can specialize in different types feed

American biologists observed such a picture in Oregon. The birds nesting in the neighborhood were divided into those who ate plant foods, those who hunted gophers and those who collected carrion. In this way, competition was kept to a minimum, which allowed the birds to exist safely nearby.

Common raven- the largest bird not only in the corvid family, but also in the entire passerine order. Its body length is about 64 cm, and it can weigh up to 1.5 kg. The raven is easily recognized by its large size, general “crow-like” appearance and uniform black coloration with a metallic sheen. Noteworthy is the large and powerful beak of this bird and its unique voice - a guttural croak that has many shades and variations.

Throughout the year, crows stay in pairs. Hearing a hoarse “kru-kru” over the forest and looking around, you can almost always find the second bird with your eyes. Now crows have become the most common birds, and it’s rare to go out of town without seeing at least a couple of these birds. And there was a time when I specifically traveled 75 km from Moscow to look at the ravens nesting in an old spruce forest near the station. Golitsyno.

Raven nesting

Crows begin nesting earlier than all our birds, with the exception of crossbills and rock pigeons, which can lay eggs even in the middle of winter. In the middle zone, they begin their spectacular aerial games over the forest already in January, and in March they begin building new or repairing old nests, which they sometimes use for many years. Nests are located in large trees, usually at a high altitude, often at least 20 m on the ground, so they are difficult to reach for observation. In recent decades, near Moscow, some crows have begun to build nests on metal masts of high-voltage transmission lines. In the east, in the steppe regions, I found raven nests under the roofs of tall wooden buildings, and in the north - on rock ledges. There are known cases of these birds nesting on bell towers and city towers.

The raven's nest is very similar to the nest of the common crow, only larger. The outside is made of dry, rather thick branches, and the inside is lined with wool. In central Russia, female crows lay their first eggs at the very beginning of March, and from then on they do not leave the nest. The male flies in from time to time to feed his brooding mate. A full clutch contains 3-7 eggs. They are greenish or grayish-bluish in color, with dark superficial and lighter deep spots scattered throughout. Externally, raven eggs are very similar to crow eggs, but noticeably larger. Their average size is 49.7×33.4 mm. Incubation lasts about 3 weeks. Young crows leave the nest at the end of May. Towards the end of the nesting cycle, the ground under the crow's nest is heavily soiled with white blotches of droppings. Here you can also find bird pellets, sometimes remnants of food brought by birds to their chicks, and, as a rule, at least 1-2 blue-black feathers they have lost.

Eating crow

Raven is a scavenger. Near slaughterhouses or at fishing and hunting grounds, these birds sometimes gather in large numbers. They are very brave predators. If the crow does not dare to attack an adult gray rat, then the raven fearlessly attacks it and kills it with several blows of its beak. You look, not even a couple of minutes have passed since the attack, and he is already carrying the killed rat to some secluded place where he will not be disturbed while eating. When, having had enough, the raven leaves this place, all that remains is blood-stained snow, trampled by its large paws. Usually he eats the entire animal without leaving a trace. The raven decides to attack more big catch, for example on the sick or injured large birds and even for hares.

Traces of a raven when moving at a walk (on the left) and in leaps

When carrion appears in the forest, the raven often knows about it by the excited chirping of magpies or the croaking of crows. However, he is careful and does not rush to rich food, and descends from the tree only after he is convinced of complete safety. Despite its powerful beak, it is very difficult for him to peck through the strong skin of an elk or cow, so he begins to eat carrion after dogs or foxes gnaw through the skin, or if he himself discovers any wounds on the animal’s body. A raven will peck out the eyes of a dead sheep or dog, but it cannot do this of a large cow.

Raven pellets can be found not only under the nesting tree. Sometimes they can be found under trees and rocks where birds spend the night. They resemble crow pellets, which are found quite often, but in a raven they are larger - (6×2.2) - (4.3×2.7) cm. The pellets usually consist of the wool of eaten animals and bone fragments embedded in it. You often notice seeds of cultivated cereals in them. In the southern regions, there are raven pellets consisting entirely of some kind of fruit, for example, semi-digested ephedra berries.

The droppings of these birds can either be in the form of a semi-liquid, blurred white blot, or in the form of a thicker short “sausage” of a dark color, but covered with a white coating at one end - it all depends on the food eaten. The size of such a “sausage” is about 4.5x0.8 cm.

Raven paw print

It’s not at all difficult to find traces of a raven’s paws; you just have to go out of town and walk across a field or along the edge of a forest. On the prints of his paws it is easy to notice various types individual characteristics. You can, for example, pay attention to the fact that the prints left by different ravens differ noticeably in size. As a rule, larger prints belong to males, and smaller ones belong to females. The male leaves an imprint (11.4×4.8) - (12.5×5), and the female - about 10.5×4 cm. The length of the claws on the middle fingers is up to 1.7, and on the hind fingers - 2 cm. Moves crows either take measured steps 16-20 cm long, or oblique leaps, placing one paw slightly in front of the other.