Nature of Easton: Corvids in Love

"Nature of Easton" is a new feature we'll be posting from time to time, as opportunity arises. It will highlight fauna and flora, along with other tidbits about our environment, most of which we see every day but often fail to notice, along with some interesting facts.

We caught this pair of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in a parking lot just south of Northampton Street in the city's Downtown neighborhood, rather amorously preening each other's feathers and then spending some time together while sitting on top of some street lamps and apparently trying to catch a breeze during the heat wave over the weekend.

There are quite a few crows in Easton, which isn't terribly surprising, given that they adapt well to urban environments. The availability of nearby woods, as well as abundant food, and water offered by the two rivers is probably also an attraction.

Crows are incredibly intelligent birds, and some animal behaviorists have speculated they are smarter than some species of apes. Scientific experiments have revealed:

• Crows actually have a language by which they pass on specific information to other crows. Their language also appears to have various regional dialects
• Common crows can count to at least 4 or 5, possibly as high as 9
• They have long memories and can remember the faces of specific people. If considered dangerous, they will even tell other crows who are unfamiliar with the person who poses a threat to avoid (or attack) them
• Crows plan ahead, often stashing food away for lean times
• Crows also lie and trick each other--they have been known to pretend to stash food in front of other crows and then hide it elsewhere. However, crows are aware of this trick and will often follow a crow that has apparently just stashed food to find out where it's really hidden
• Crows have been known not only to use tools, but also to fabricate them
• Crows are thought to mate for life, and live for an average of 4 to 6 years in the wild, but have been known to survive as long as 14 years in their natural habitat

Crow roosts may be small, as many as a few families of birds, or huge, numbering in the hundreds or even thousands of individuals, as can be seen in the Southside and Historic districts in the City of Bethlehem nearly every evening at dusk. In Easton, however, it seems the roosts are much smaller, as we haven't seen more than a dozen of the corvids together at any given time.

For more information about the American Crow, we recommend:

Crows Have Human-Like Intelligence, Author Says

The Crow Society

6 Terrifying Ways Crows Are Way Smarter Than You Think

(Warning: This one contains some profanity and may not be suitable for work. But the information contained in the article is factual, and it's an amusing read.)

Got an idea for a "Nature of Easton" feature, or some great photos of local wildlife? Email us!