A book about crows

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I'm after a recommendation for a book about crows, for a present. We live under a commuting flight-path for crows and would like a book which explains their social lives, how they communicate, what they're up to, and how they know when to get up in the morning. Stuff like that, with nice illustrations. There are a couple by Marzluff which fit the bill (the earlier one looks better) but I'd really appreciate a recommendation please. 

 Bob Kemp 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

Mark Cocker’s Crow Country doesn’t quite fit all your requirements as it meanders around quite a bit, but would be a good supplement- 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2007/jul/28/featur...

 

 krikoman 20 Nov 2018
 HB1 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

+1 for Mark Cocker's Crow Country actually, and what about Ted Hughes' Crow  (heavy stuff!)

In reply to krikoman:

Ha! I don’t recall there being much crow action in that. I do remember that there were so many characters in it that I had to take notes to try and keep track. If I’d wanted that I’d have read Tolkien. Anyway, keep your beak out if you don’t want to address my corvid query!

 GravitySucks 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

John Redhead  "And one for the Crow"

Your welcome

 RX-78 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

The inner life of animals, although not just about crows does have a lot of references to the corvids. It's a good book anyway.

 krikoman 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

>  Anyway, keep your beak out if you don’t want to address my corvid query!

That's easy for you to Jay.

I thought you be raven about it! or at least a little bit chough(ed).

 

Post edited at 10:12
1
pasbury 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

+ another 1 for Crow Country - superb.

Not read it but Bird Brains - The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays by Candace Savage looks interesting.

These clever beasts are my favourite birds.

 subtle 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

Three Craws

Three craws sat upon a wa', 
Sat upon a wa', sat upon a wa', 
Three craws sat upon a wa', 
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.

The first craw was greetin' for his maw, 
Greetin' for his maw, greetin' for his maw, 
The first craw was greetin' for his maw, 
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.

The second craw fell and broke his jaw, 
Fell and broke his jaw, fell and broke his jaw, 
The second craw fell and broke his jaw, 
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.

The third craw, couldnae caw at a', 
Couldnae caw at a', couldnae caw at a', 
The third craw, couldnae caw at a', 
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.

An that's a', absolutely a', 
Absolutely a', absolutely a', 
An that's a', absolutely a', 
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.

Plenty of story books to illustrate this song as well

In reply to subtle:

Is your keyboard damaged?

2
In reply to all:

Thanks everyone, really useful.

 

 Bob Kemp 20 Nov 2018
In reply to subtle:

Or you could have the grimmer border ballad... 

http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_corbies.htm

Rigid Raider 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

Clever animals. In King Solomon's Ring Konrad Lorenz describes being mobbed by a bunch of crows when he was walking home from swimming in a river with a wet black costume held in his hand, which they thought was one of their brothers.

 Martin W 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Rigid Raider:

I remember in one of Chris Packham's "ain't nature weird" type programmes, a piece about a couple in the US who used to leave food out for the local crows, and started to notice odd items appearing on their driveway - things like a broken toy car, and a bit of random hardware.  They discovered after a while that the crows were leaving them there.  They decided to regard them as thank you presents!  The oddest part of the story was when the man was trying to fix his garden hose, and misplaced a crucial component of the connector hardware so he couldn't finish the job.  The next day the missing part appeared on the drive - almost as if the crows knew that he had been looking for it!

Here is a Youtube video of a crow that seems to have taught itself to "ski":  youtube.com/watch?v=1WupH8oyrAo& (actually I think that's more like snowboarding, but what the heck).

 GlennWatson 20 Nov 2018
In reply to Martin W:

Look up Ravens in Winter by Bernd Heinrich. A very interesting study of a group of Ravens in Maine. USA. Social interaction, language, feeding habits etc.

 coinneach 20 Nov 2018
In reply to subtle:

The fourth craw he wisnae there at a'

Wisnae there at a', Wisnae there at a'

The fourth craw he wisnae there at a'

On a cold and frosty morning

 

In reply to GlennWatson:

> Look up Ravens in Winter by Bernd Heinrich. A very interesting study of a group of Ravens in Maine. USA. Social interaction, language, feeding habits etc.

That looks a great book. Thanks.

 Kean 21 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

No book recommendation...but... as a teenager I found a crow with an injured wing once...it had been shot. Vet fixed it up as best he could. Lived in the living room on a perch...couldn't fly but could glide. No need for cage. Used to scare our bruiser of a cat away just by raising its wings and looking menacing...I used to wander around the farm collecting mice killed by aforementioned bruiser cat & feed them to crow...who used to peel them like a banana & swallow them whole 

(Nice talking point at dinner parties, I find)

Post edited at 14:16
 rka 21 Nov 2018
In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

Not crows but jackdaws and a brilliant read, King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz

Amazon review

"Solomon, the legend goes, had a magic ring which enabled him to speak to the animals in their own language. Konrad Lorenz was gifted with a similar power of understanding the animal world. He was that rare beast, a brilliant scientist who could write (and indeed draw) beautifully. He did more than any other person to establish and popularize the study of how animals behave, receiving a Nobel Prize for his work. "King Solomon's Ring", the book which brought him worldwide recognition, is a collection of observations and insights into the lives of all sorts of creatures, from jackdaws and water-shrews to dogs, cats and even wolves. Illustrated by Lorenz himself, the book is an introduction to the world of our furred and feathered friends, a world which often provides an uncanny resemblance to our own."

Rigid Raider 21 Nov 2018
In reply to rka:

Oh well, jackdaws, crows, magpies, aren't they all different models from the same manufacturer?  Magpies are also fascinating; I heard a BBC programme about them. When a local magpie dies there are disputes over the redrawing of the territories. All the local magpies have an interest in knowing the outcome so they assemble in a parliament to watch the scrap. It's a very noisy event and I'm sure all that cackling is intelligent discussion.  

 SuperstarDJ 22 Nov 2018
In reply to HB1:

> +1 for Mark Cocker's Crow Country actually, and what about Ted Hughes' Crow  (heavy stuff!)

+1 for Ted Hughes Crow - try and find a recording of him reading it. 


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