Goals:
To expand children's knowledge about the features of appearance, habits of crows.
Introduce children to the riddle and proverbs about crows.
Dictionary: omnivore, carrion.
Continue to teach children to draw bird eggs in a nest, mix paints on a palette.
Exercise in onomatopoeia, develop the articulatory apparatus of children.
Cultivate curiosity, interest in birds native land humane attitude towards them.
Equipment:
Pictures and photographs of a hooded crow, sheets of paper with a painted crow's nest, equipment for painting with watercolors, equipment for playing an audio recording with the voice of a crow.
Crow
Lesson progress:
Guess the riddle:
Raven Riddle
Coloration - greyish,
Habit - thieving,
hoarse screamer -
Famous person.
Who is she?
(Crow)
There she is - hoodie. (Show pictures and photos). What words in the riddle made you think of a crow? (Answers of children). The crow "wears a gray vest, but the wings are black."
The crow is an amazing bird. Lives long, longer than humans. Crows are smart birds. They can count to five, distinguish between men and women, easily distinguish between a real sleeper and a person pretending to sleep. Crows also recognize people hostile to them, they distinguish a stick from a gun.
Crows are talkative birds. They can transmit different information to each other. Moreover, a crow from Crimea will not understand a crow from Kyiv, but if they meet and live side by side, they will soon begin to understand each other.
Crows nest high on acacias, poplars, cypresses. They like to settle on hawthorns. Why do you think? (Answers of children). The hawthorn, though not tall, is prickly. And this is a sure defense against enemies. Crows build a nest from thick branches, lined with moss and wool inside. And if they come across human garbage - cotton wool, rags, threads - they also use it.
Crows are very happy about the onset of spring: spread their tails, twitch their wings and hoarsely yell. Then the crows have weddings. At first, the bride and groom walk beside each other, puffed up hostilely with half-fluffed wings and beaks ready for battle. And so a day or two. Then the crow steps back and offers its head, and the raven begins to gently touch the feathers on its head with its beak.
The eggs of gray crows are blue-green, painted with dark spots. There are 3-5 of them in the nest.
Let's draw them. On the leaves you have already drawn a nest. You only need to draw the eggs. How many eggs can you draw in a crow's nest? What color will you paint them? How to get the required color? What colors should be mixed? What color will we paint the spots on the eggs? (Answers of children, performance of work).
While the female is sitting on the eggs, the male feeds her, protects her, and in case of danger, the parents carry their children to a safe place in their beaks. At first, the chicks are naked, ugly, "not talkative". The voice of crows is not very pleasant for our hearing. But this is for us, but for their mother crow, as in the Russian proverb: "There is no better singer for a crow than a native little crow." How do you understand this proverb? (Answers of children).
Let's try to "talk" in crow language - croak. (Onomatopoeia).
Imagine you are walking through the woods and suddenly a chick is on the path. He runs away from you by jumping on the ground. Poor thing! He can't fly yet. After all, it will disappear, someone will eat it! Is it necessary to "rescue" the poor chick? What to do? Why do you think so? (Answers of children).
Don't touch the chick. He will not disappear if you do not catch him and take him away from his native places. They do not yet know how to fly, but they know how to hide so that no predator can see them. And parents find them, feed them and save them. They even talk. They call the chicks, and the kids respond to them with special sounds that are inaudible to humans, but understandable to birds.
It's time to play.
Crow's nest game.
Children are divided into teams (3-5 people each) - the inhabitants of the crow's nest (large hoop). Under the words of the poem, the children run around, waving their arms with “wings” and saying “kar-kar-kar” at the end of each stanza. On the command "night" the children take their places. The “nest” that occupies its hoop first wins.
Here under the green tree
Ravens jump merrily:
Kar-kar-kar!
All day they screamed
The boys weren't allowed to sleep.
Kar-kar-kar!
Only at night they fall silent
Fall asleep in their nests:
Kar-kar-kar!
What do crows eat? Why are they called "omnivores"? Think about how the word "omnivore" was formed? (Answers of children).
Crows eat rodents, snails, caterpillars, beetles, lizards. With pleasure they eat grains, potatoes, nuts, berries. Often they rob in gardens, devouring cherries, cherries, figs, pears, apples, mulberries, nuts, grapes. In addition, crows eat garbage left by people and carrion. Carrion is called the remains of dead, fallen animals, birds, insects. That is, destroying garbage and carrion, crows, as it were, clean up, put things in order. That is why they are called paramedics.
Crows are very voracious birds. And they rob not only in the gardens. Nesting songbirds suffer greatly from them. In one sitting, the crow eats all the chicks. If crows find eggs in the nest, they will punch a hole with their beak and drink it.
Crows also attack adult birds. They overtake a dove in flight, for example, they grab it with their paws and hit it on the head with their beak. Woe to young hares. Ravens kill them with one blow of their powerful beak.
And who is the enemy of the crows themselves? These are owls, martens, weasels, birds of prey.
Questions:
1. What does a gray crow look like?
2. Why are ravens considered smart birds?
3. Why are ravens considered talkative birds?
4. How long do ravens live?
5. How do crows welcome spring?
6. How are crow weddings?
7. Where do crows nest? How is the nest made?
8. How many eggs are there in a crow's nest?
9. How do their parents take care of them?
10. How are crows born?
11. How do their parents take care of them?
12. What do crows eat?
13. Why are they called orderlies?
14. What are the enemies of crows?
15. How do ravens rob?
16. Is it necessary to raise a chick that has fallen out of the nest? Why?
High voltage 16-03-2010 19:19
Spring is coming and the crows are preparing for an important period of their existence, for reproduction, i.e. nesting. During this period, the behavior of our "favorite" birds is very different from usual.
At first I decided for myself to update my knowledge about this life cycle gray crow, and then figured out that it would be nice to remind the comrades what was what.
Nesting gray crow.
Nesting places. In nesting time, the crow is associated with woody vegetation and nests in forests (near the edges), groves, gardens, and also in cities.
Nest location.
Nests are more common on coniferous trees, less often on deciduous trees, not very high from the ground. Construction material nests. The nest is built from dry boughs, laid in a fork in the large branches of a tree. The tray is lined with wool, bast, rags, feathers, etc.
There is evidence in the literature that gray crows occupy the same nest for several years, each time reconstructing it. However, in Moscow and in the immediate Moscow region, crows rarely occupy old nests, more often they build new ones every year, which is apparently due to their frequent disturbance and destruction of nests by people. The same reasons explain the high altitude of nests in cities. In poorly developed and rarely visited areas, crow nests are usually located at a height of 2.5 to 6 m from the ground. But in cities, crows build their nests at a much higher altitude and in more hard-to-reach places. So, in the city of Moscow, all discovered nests were at a height of 4 to 21 m, and most of them were at a height of 10 to 15 m; in Ivanovo, the average nest height was 18 m; in Cherepovets, about 13 m.
When nesting gray crows, the distance between residential nests is very important. In slightly altered landscapes, this distance for most residential nests is 80–200 m. In such settlements, communication between neighboring pairs is maintained, which is important in the collective protection of the nest from predators. In the city, this uniform distribution of nests is significantly disturbed. In urban parks, nests are located at a distance of 60-80 m from each other, and in residential areas - in separate groups, and the distance between these groups can be several hundred meters. The decisive moment for the location of the nest in a certain area is the availability of food in an amount sufficient for adult birds during the period of nest construction and egg laying. From April 15 to May 6, 2001, we carried out absolute counts of nests of the hooded crow in the northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern parts of Moscow. In total, about 12 square meters were surveyed. km of the urban area, where 505 nests were noted, of which 322 were residential. The nesting density of crows averaged 60 pairs per square meter. km.
The shape and size of the nest.
The compact pile nest has a thick base, low edges and a fairly flat tray. The base of the nest consists of relatively thick branches, 15-20 mm in diameter, the upper part consists of thinner branches. The nest is small, given the size of the bird, when it sits on the nest, it is clearly visible. The bird's nest is occupied for a number of years, but, each time renewing it, they gradually increase in size. Nest diameter 320-660 mm, nest height 200-430 mm, tray diameter 170-240 mm, tray depth 85-140 mm.
Masonry features.
The clutch usually consists of 4-5 pale green, bluish green or pure green eggs with brownish spots and dots. Egg sizes: (38-42) x (28-32) mm.
In landscapes heavily altered by humans, birds are experiencing an increase in fertility: the appearance of additional clutches and an increase in the number of eggs and chicks that successfully complete their development. If in poorly developed landscapes the average number of eggs in a full clutch is on average 3.4-4.0 eggs, then in strongly and completely transformed conditions it increases to 4.2-4.7. The number of hatched chicks in heavily modified landscapes also turns out to be somewhat larger on average (3.8) than in slightly modified forest landscapes (3.2-3.5). The existence of a certain trend towards increased fertility in urbanized populations of gray crows is also confirmed by the number of chicks that have flown out of the nests.
Nesting times.
Gathering for nesting in early spring, the nest is built at the end of March by both parents, the female lays eggs in mid-April. Incubation - 21 days, the female incubates, the male feeds the incubating female. The type of incubation is mixed, at the beginning of oviposition, the eggs are heated several times a day, starting from the middle of oviposition, heating becomes constant. Chicks become flying by 5 weeks. The chicks leave the nest in mid-June. In summer, the chicks are with their parents. During nesting and walking chicks, crows are aggressive and can attack closely approached animals and even humans. Profound changes that have taken place in the ecology of urbanized birds are evidenced by the lengthening of the reproductive period noted in urban crows. The usual timing of nest building in slightly modified forest landscapes middle lane European part of Russia is the last week of March-beginning of April. But the mild temperature conditions of the big city provide earlier snow melting, here leaves on the trees bloom 2-3 weeks earlier, mouse-like rodents and invertebrates that are part of the diet of birds become active earlier. In this regard, urban birds begin to nest earlier. Fully built nests of crows in Moscow were noted in the second half of March, and at the end of this month, that is, one and a half to two weeks earlier than in natural landscapes, full clutches are already found in the city. In the 20th of April, chicks appear in the nests of city crows, and at the end of May, fledglings.
It is possible, but you need to understand what difficulties you will have to face: you need to master basic information about the behavior and needs of the bird, know what the crow eats, how it can be educated, and much more.
Raven and crow
The gray crow is a bright representative of the corvidae family, which belong to the order of passerines. So her rather close relatives are sparrows and tits, despite the difference in size. But the closest relatives of the gray crow are magpies, jackdaws and crows. The latter is often considered a male hooded crow, although they are two different species. This happened because of similar names in Russian, in English version there is no such confusion - there the names of the species are not consonant.
By appearance these birds are easy to distinguish: a crow is gray-black, a raven is black, because of this color they are often confused with rooks.
Nesting
In our country, this species is very widespread. Ravens settle in forests, near water bodies, and also near farmland. In addition, a significant part of sedentary populations live near people, in large settlements.
When crows build nests, they separate from the flock and try to protect the boundaries of their area. In cities, the widespread breakdown into pairs and mating games can be observed already in February. The earliest chicks appear not earlier than April, in one clutch there are 3-6 eggs, less often up to 7-8. As a rule, birds do not use old nests; they make new ones, but not far from the old ones. AT wild nature birds breed at a distance of 1-2 km from another pair, in the city this gap is much less.
How long does a crow live in nature and at home
Black crows are often credited with mystical properties, including an incredibly long life of 300 years. In fact, the bird will live 20-30 years, although there are statements about centenarians - 75 years.
How long does a gray crow live? There is an opinion that the same number as Raven, or a little less. In the wild, healthy strong specimens live up to 20 years, in captivity, in good conditions, the bird will be able to live a little more due to the fact that she does not have to get food herself. It is important for the owner to know what crows eat in order to choose the right food - so the pet will be healthy and live longer.
How to choose a pet
The biggest mistake is to take an adult wild bird. She will never get used to the cage, will have a vicious disposition and run away at the slightest opportunity. Many try to take a juvenile that can't fly yet and end up with the same behavior. The chick needs to be brought up from 2-3 months of age, if he is already more than 6 months old, then he will not get used to you. But even this does not guarantee a meek disposition - crows are vicious, noisy, biting, and these qualities increase with age.
Yes, they are often funny, birds of this species are very smart, but they are not very friendly and are not suitable for anyone as a pet because of their behavior.
Place
It is better not to keep the gray crow for clean people - this bird is noisy and dirty. Even when kept in a cage, the dirt will be scattered far beyond its limits. Her litter is liquid, which also adds to the problems, and the smell is not the most pleasant. But if you are ready to clean and ventilate the room often and you are not afraid of difficulties, then here are some tips:
If possible, build an aviary - this is the best home for a bird in captivity;
You can keep a crow in a cage and even in a box, if it is sufficiently socialized, and it can be released into the room;
Equip the place of residence with a thick perch stick;
When flying freely around the room, do not forget that the crow eats almost everything and often likes to make stash - they can be not only from food, but also from various little things you like, like keys, coins, pens and other things.
What do crows eat
In wild nature
This bird does not disdain anything - it calmly eats any food waste, even carrion. She likes to steal bird eggs, and because of this, she often sees an agricultural bird - her eggs and young animals, which she also does not mind eating.
At home
What does a crow eat if kept at home? In general, such a pet will be omnivorous, and it depends only on the owner how complete and varied his diet will be. You can give any cereals, food for cats and dogs, homemade cottage cheese, all sprouted acorns, fruits and dried fruits, any vegetables, eggs in the shell, sprouted grains, raw meat of birds and animals (be careful with chicken, in which antibiotics are often found), offal , seafood, rodents and insects (meal worm, grasshoppers, larvae
The pet must have round-the-clock access to water, it is also necessary mineral supplement. You can buy it in specialized stores or cook it yourself - give a mixture of calcined shells, crushed bricks, charcoal and sand. Separately, it is worth giving clay - it is very important for birds, and they use it in almost any form, dry, wet or as a thick water suspension.
With a varied diet, the crow almost does not need additional vitamins, but for prevention, a two-week fortification can be carried out every six months.
harmful products
Feeding Tips
In fact, it is not so important what exactly the crow eats, it is important how she does it. In birds of this species high intelligence, and therefore even the process of feeding should be used in order to make the pet's life richer and more interesting. To put it simply, he must work hard to get food. To do this, it is necessary to process the feed as little as possible, for example, chickens and mice should be given whole, vegetables, fruits and nuts should be given whole, without pre-cleaning and cutting. Such food will take the bird for a long time, make it break its head and work with its claws and beak, which will serve as a kind of exercise for the muscles.
You can make caps - these are toys in which food is hidden. For example, wrapping pieces of food in paper or small plastic bottles, so that this is a difficult and interesting task for a crow.
Well, in general, do not forget about playing with your pet, experts recommend giving the crow at least 2-3 hours a day.
In Ivanovo, the Hooded Crow is the most common species of open nesting corvids. Observations of the nesting of the gray crow in Ivanovo were regularly carried out from 1990 to 2014. In the Ivanovo region, the crow starts building nests in the second half of March. In Ivanovo, gray crows renovate old nests and start building new ones during the February thaws. In the city, the first hooded crows incubating eggs were recorded at the end of March. Late clutches, possibly repeated, occur in the second decade of May. Nest building by gray crows lasts 7-8 days. Crows are most active in building nests in the morning. In cities, attempts to build nests in individual pairs of crows continue until the second decade of May. In May, crows build their nests relatively quickly, in 3-4 days (Ponomarev et al., 2004).
In residential areas of Ivanovo, the crow nests on 15 species of trees and shrubs. It has been noted to nest on power transmission poles on the outskirts of the city and in the industrial zone. The species composition of nesting trees used by the gray crow for building nests clearly depends on the species composition of the city's tree planting. Thus, the main trees used by the gray crow for nesting in the city were warty birch, small-leaved linden and balsam poplar (on average, up to 77.4% of total number nesting trees). The share of these three tree species in urban tree gardening is about 78.3% of all trees. The most numerous species of trees in the landscaping of the city is the warty birch. On average, half of the crow nests in the city of Ivanovo were on a birch. On poplar and linden, respectively, 14.1% and 8.6% of the counted nests were built. Among coniferous trees, hooded crows most often used Siberian larch (an introduced species) for nesting. An average of 9.3% of all nests were located on larch. In the landscaping of residential areas, larch makes up 5.6% of the total number of trees suitable for nesting crows. Isolated cases of crow nesting on Scotch pine and European spruce were noted: these tree species are few in the landscaping of city streets. Occasionally, crows nested on low trees and shrubs: on hawthorn, plum, bird cherry Maakka. The height of the nests of the gray crow in the surveyed areas of Ivanovo had a wide range and depended on the height, on the architectonics of the nesting tree, and to the greatest extent on anthropogenic pressure: disturbance, destruction of nests, cutting down and pruning of trees.
It is known that conifers and deciduous trees In the middle zone, there are significant differences in crown architectonics. Features of the architectonics of trees are undoubtedly of great ecological importance for birds building large nests (Doppelmair, 1939). The height of the location of crow nests above the ground in the city to a certain extent reflects the degree of disturbance, security and inaccessibility of nests in specific conditions. The distance from the ground to the nest is one of the important indicators when considering the plasticity of corvid nesting under anthropogenic conditions. The ratio between the height of the trees on which the nests are located and the distance from the ground to the nest naturally changes within certain limits for different types trees. However, when comparing the heights of the nests of the gray crow on deciduous and coniferous trees, a significant similarity was revealed. Naturally, the height of the tree itself is a limitation on the height of the nest. Additional evidence for this is the nesting of crows at a much higher height on power transmission poles, fire escape platforms of tall buildings, lighting masts of stadiums, etc. In general, crow nests built on trees with similar crown architectonics are placed in a similar way. One can note a tendency in the use of trees close in height and general architectonics by the hooded crow and identify groups of trees that allow this species to nest in a certain part of the crown, at a certain height.
There is a certain relationship between the height of the tree and the distance from the ground to the nest. So, as the height of the tree crown increases, the height of the nest also increases. But this trend can be violated - when the gray crow nests on very tall (20-25 m) trees for urban habitats or on trees whose crowns are disturbed by pruning. Balsam poplar is one such example. Under favorable hydrological conditions, poplar can relatively quickly reach gigantic sizes. After heavy pruning, the poplar, due to its rapid growth, produces new shoots, which are often not suitable for building crows' nests. In such cases, crows locate their nests approximately in the middle (40-50%) of the height of the nesting tree.
Thus, when nesting the gray crow on poplar (and on some other trees), the following types of nest location can be noted:
- “Normal” location of the nest on trees with intact crowns that have retained the natural architectonics typical for this tree species, corresponding to the age state. On young, middle-aged, and old generative trees, the nests are usually located near the trunk of the tree, less often on the lateral branch, usually about 80% of its height is under the nest.
- Nest location in trees modified by pruning. The nest is located on (or) near the old part of the tree, about 40% of its height is located near the trunk under the nest, the crows use young, middle-aged generative trees.
- The nest is located on very large old generative or senile trees. The nest is located, as a rule, in the main forks of the lateral branches of the crown, under the nest there is 40-60% of the height of the tree.
Of the types of nests of the hooded crow on poplar described above, the most consistent with the nesting stereotype is the normal location (type 1). This arrangement of nests is typical not only for poplars, but also for many other trees with similar crown architectonics. The presence of a certain stereotype in the location of nests in the crowns of trees (about 80% of the height of the tree under the nest) is also confirmed by the location of nests of the gray crow on trees. maximum dimensions. Usually the part of the tree trunk under the nest located in the giant tree is smaller than normal, but the nest location is similar to typical. Probably, the location of nests of the gray crow on trees damaged by pruning is associated with the need to populate their nesting area.
Among the coniferous trees used for nesting by the gray crow in the city of Ivanovo, Siberian larch is of the greatest interest, which is absent in the natural landscapes of the Eastern Upper Volga region. Larch is characterized by a whorled arrangement of branches, both for spruces and young ones, almost in a horizontal plane. Perhaps this form of branching is convenient for placing large nests of corvids. The secondary branching of larch also maintains a horizontal position. Most nests of the gray crow on larch are located near the tree trunk, at the base of the whorl or at the top of the crown, in the fork of at least three divergent branches. Quite rarely, crow nests are found on side branches at a considerable distance from the trunk. This feature of the location can be explained by the need for sufficient area to support large nests. All the nests of the gray crow in the residential areas of Ivanovo were located in the upper part of the tree crowns. Under the nest was from 80 to 90% of the larch height. This position of the nest on the tree probably depends on the features of the architectonics of the larch crown, as well as on the rather large size of the nests and the birds themselves. So, with the usual location of the nest of the gray crow near the trunk, at the base of the whorl, at 80-90% of the height of the tree, the distance to the edge of the side branches is about 1 m, which allows adult birds to easily reach the nest.
When studying the features of the placement of nests of the gray crow in the crowns of deciduous and coniferous trees, several of the most common options were identified:
a) near-stem placement of the nest;
b) placement of the nest in the fork of the crown;
c) interbranch placement of the nest in the fork of the crown (hanging nest);
d) placement of the nest on the side branch.
There were also isolated cases of placement of nests by the hooded crow on the top of the crown and on the cut (break) of the tree trunk. The selected variants of nest placement of the hooded crow in the crown of a tree generally correspond to those previously identified (Konstantinov, 1971; Korbut, 1986, 1990). Share ratio different options The placement of nests of the gray crow in the surveyed urban settlements has not fundamentally changed.
The most common location for crow nests in the residential areas of Ivanovo is near the trunk. From 44 to 63% of the common crows from all detected cases of nesting on birch, linden, poplar, elm, etc. build their nests in this way. When nesting on larch, nests near the trunk occur in 75-95% of cases in different residential areas of the city. On an apple, plum, and cherry tree, the near-trunk placement of nests of the gray crow is rare - 5-15%. Placement of the nest in the fork of the main branches of the crown is most common when birds nest on poplar, linden, maple, ash, apple, plum, less often when nesting on larch, birch, brittle willow. Interbranch placement of the nest, the so-called "hanging nest" was noted when nesting birds on birch - 2-7%, on linden - 12-17%, larch - 6-10%, elm - 9%, poplar - 4%, ash and maple up to 13-14%. The placement of nests on the lateral branch is more typical for nesting birds on poplar - 12-20%, brittle willow - 17%, maple - 20% in different types residential development of the city.
The frequency of occurrence of options for placing nests of gray crows on deciduous and coniferous trees differs significantly, which is determined by differences in the architectonics of the crowns of these trees. The presence of thick, strong, horizontally directed branches, in particular in poplar, allows the hooded crow to place nests on these side branches in greater numbers, compared to nesting on birch or linden. Coniferous trees have strong forks directly at the trunk, which provide strong support for large nests of the gray crow. For spruces and young pines, as well as for larch, a whorled arrangement of lateral branches is characteristic.
An analysis of the collected materials allows us to speak about a certain strategy of the gray crow in choosing suitable places for nests in the crowns of trees. With the wide use of different types of trees and shrubs for nesting, it is possible to identify the main, most characteristic, ways of nest placement. Thus, with a wide variety of species of trees and shrubs used by the gray crow for nesting, the choice of options for placing nests in the crowns of trees is relatively small. But the existence of several options for nest placement in the crown of a tree practically does not limit the possibility of building a nest on any type of tree planting in the city, including introduced and exotic species of trees and shrubs. As is known, in the absence or shortage of natural substrates, the gray crow uses human structures for nesting.
Thus, hooded crows choose optimal places for nesting in tree crowns, which make it easy to reach the nest, and the upper part of the crown serves as shelter and protection from feathered predators. The height of the tree trunk below the nest is usually sufficient to ensure that the nest is inaccessible to enemies from below. As a rule, when building nests in urban habitats, hooded crows retain a certain nesting stereotype that had developed even before the synanthropization of the species - they prefer to build nests on a whorl of branches near a tree trunk or in the forks of the main branches. The ratio between the height of the trees on which the nests are located and the distance from the ground to the nest varies within certain limits from general pattern for different trees.
Features of the nesting of the gray crow ( Corvus cornix) in Ivanovo
Written by: Ryabov Alexey Valentinovich, Ponomarev Vsevolod Alekseevich
The Gray Crow (Corvus cornix) is one of the most recognizable birds of the Moscow Region. This is a very smart bird that becomes attached to the person who raised her.
Description
Hoodie(Crow family) - a fairly large bird with a length of 44 to 51 cm, weighing up to 700 g. The wingspan is about one meter. The plumage of the gray crow is gray or dark gray (except for the black top of the head, shirt-front, tail and wings). The black beak is slightly hooked and has a slightly convex mandible. The legs of the gray crow are black. It is the presence of gray color in the plumage that is one of the important hallmarks gray crows. Young birds are slightly darker than adults. The voice of the gray crow is a hoarse "karr-karrr". Many ornithologists consider this bird a subspecies of the black crow and admit the possibility of crossing between the black and gray crows. “In their way of life, gray and black crows almost do not differ from each other. Both represent sedentary, less often nomadic birds living in pairs or united in a large society. (A.E. Brem “The Life of Animals, Volume II, “Birds”).
Food
Gray crows are omnivores. “What they don’t eat is they clean the railroad tracks from what falls from the dustbins and car toilets, they swallow mice, lizards and frogs, the seeds of spruce and field bindweed…”. (S. F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch"). The menu is replenished with various small rodents, birds, beetles, worms, eggs of other birds, food waste, carrion, fruits and grains. Crows have learned to get their own food different ways. “For a month, the birds, not sparing their belly, saved the lands of the Barguzinsky Reserve from pests. They did not dig the ground at random, but stuck their beak exactly where, at a depth of 5-10 centimeters, the larvae of the cockchafer tormented the roots of plants. (S. F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch").
The omnivorous nature of the gray crow leads to the fact that it often feeds on landfills, dumpsters and other similar places. It is not uncommon to see crows making a mess near garbage cans. They take away with them crusts of bread and bones with the remains of meat in order to get enough in more convenient location. For example, on rooftops.
The crow is classified as a bird of prey, as it preys on smaller birds (especially chicks), rodents and other animals. In some parks, squirrels suffer from gray crows. “Sometimes there are raids on hares that for some reason found themselves in the clearing during the day. A flock of crows skillfully blocks the oblique path to retreat. Sometimes the crows take on the vile manner of the skua - they terrorize the small gulls that have grabbed the fish until they spit out the silvery body. (S. F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch").
Habitat
In our country, the gray crow is common in the European part and in Siberia. In the east (up to the Yenisei), the color of the plumage of the crow is more gray. This bird is found in forests, wastelands, landfills, in small towns and cities. The bird is not afraid of the abundance of people. The gray crow manages to build nests not only on trees, but also on buildings. For the night, crows gather in huge clusters. They often spend the night in parks or cemeteries. Often they are joined by rooks and jackdaws. One part of the Moscow and Moscow region gray crows remains for the winter in their former places, the other part migrates to other regions and even to European countries. Total birds is not decreasing, as crows fly to us from the North.
Breeding chicks
With the advent of spring, the mating season begins. At this time, it is interesting to watch the males making incredibly complex turns, takeoffs and other figures in the air. aerobatics. The Gray Crow nests in pairs. Sometimes nests are located nearby. Crows are very sensitive birds. They are well versed in environmental issues. In polluted areas, the gray crow rarely builds a nest. She only flies there in search of food, and builds a nest in a cleaner place so that the offspring are healthy.
In March - April, the construction of a nest on a tree or on a building begins. Building material is everything that crows can find and bring. These are branches, hay, rags, various pieces of iron and pieces of wire. The clutch consists of 2-6 bluish-green eggs with dark brown spots and strokes. The eggs laid first are more intensely colored than the last eggs. At the very end, the female lays pale blue eggs with almost imperceptible speckles. Family responsibilities are distributed as follows: the female incubates the eggs, and the male supplies her with food. “Through binoculars it is clearly visible that there is a noticeable movement in the nest. The bird rises a little and for a few moments, as it were, half-standing, quickly moving its legs, which makes the wings and the whole body tremble. These strange, at first glance, actions of the bird contribute to the ventilation of the nesting tray. It lasts from a few seconds to half a minute and is repeated so often that the bird, in fact, never sits quietly on the eggs. (S.F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch").
Chicks appear in about three weeks. It is noted that the crow-"boy" hatches first. As soon as the chicks are born, the female gray crow is connected to the search for food. Birds guard the nest with chicks in turn. Growing chicks need food that is easy to digest and high in calories. The best food is the eggs of other birds. Ravens ruthlessly plunder other people's nests to feed their chicks. They also hunt for chicks of smaller birds. “Sitting on a stick (and who just invented it?) Or on the overhanging roof of a birdhouse, the crow waits for the chick to look out the window. Grasping him by the beak, she drags away the fools one by one. But this is not the pinnacle of robbery: some crows uncork birdhouses like a bottle of beer. At the Zvenigorod biological station of Moscow State University, a burglar, acting like a lever with her beak, dropped the covers from eight birdhouses in one morning. Putting her beak between the lid and the side wall, she widened the gap until the lid gave way.
The habits of the gray crow
Ravens are surprisingly mobile, although they walk slowly due to their close toes. This bird loves to have fun. For example, it plans with pleasure, gaining a height of several tens of meters. Boldly sways on the wires. At our dacha, crows noisily roll down metal roof, having previously folded the wings. Smart birds are incredibly smart. “If it is not possible to gouge a strong shell with their beak, they soar into the sky and throw the shell on stones or on the highway. Once, crows used the Tashkent airfield as nutcrackers. In the mornings, when the airport was relatively calm, a flock of crows bombed the concrete strip walnuts tied up in neighboring gardens! (S. F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch"). There are many facts confirming the ability of crows. “They famously count to five in their minds. The crows were rounded up ... If five people entered the shelter, the flock did not return until all the hunters lost patience and went home. If, say, nine people climbed into the shelter, and six or seven came out of it, the observer crows lost count and, deciding that everything was in order, gave signals to return. (S. F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch").
The crow has worst enemy- owl. He kills birds at night when they sleep. Crows are vindictive. They remember and can attack the dog that chased them a year ago. Occasionally, birds mistake the fur hats of people for old offenders and peck them furiously.
Gray crow daily routine
The famous Alfred Edmund Brehm described the typical daily routine of crows in this way. " Everyday life Raven is like this. They begin to fly before dawn, and often gather on a certain building or large tree before scattering across the fields. Until noon, they are actively busy looking for food: they walk through the fields and meadows, guard mouse holes, look out for bird nests, rummage through the gardens. ... By noon, crows flock to a dense tree to sleep in its foliage after dinner, and then go for feeding again. Before settling down for the night, they gather in in large numbers, apparently with the aim of mutually exchanging impressions of the day. (A.E. Brem “The Life of Animals, Volume II, “Birds”).
hand crow
A crow living in captivity quickly gets used to a person. Especially if you got into the house as a chick. Everyone notes that this is a very smart bird. True, thieving. “Here, for example, how the zoologist Yu. Romov complained about his tame bird. His pupil, who lived in freedom, stole everything she could carry. At the table, she behaved in the highest degree indecently - she emptied the spoon of the host and guest before she had time to bring it to her mouth. It was worth a little gape, as the spoon itself disappeared. Neither swearing nor cuffs helped. (S. F. Starikovich "The menagerie at the porch").
“Both species of crows can be kept in captivity for a long time without much trouble; they are tamed and learn to speak, if only the teacher has the patience. But still, they are not suitable for the room because of their untidyness and the smell they spread ... ". (A.E. Brem “The Life of Animals, Volume II, “Birds”). A tame crow has been living near a person for years. She gets so used to the house and all family members that she can lead a free lifestyle, but eat and spend the night with people.
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