While down at the beach checking out the shorebirds, I happened to catch an odd sort of interaction between several crows. I was able to get three different ~1minute video clips and posted to youtube the one with the best light and sound, but the behavior in all three was essentially the same. The quiet mrow-ow sorts of sounds that occasionally are heard come from the crows, while the chittering is from the flock of shorebirds behind me. (Incidentally, I’ve been noticing that meowing call a lot more lately than I remember from before. Probably the most likely explanation is that I didn’t pay enough attention previously, but sometimes I wonder if they’re using it more than they used to.)
I have not seen anything quite like this, and have no idea what is going on here, but pretty much all the crows in the immediate vicinity seemed to be participating at some point (though they not all got involved in every dip). It sometimes seemed like they might be pairing off, other times maybe several were facing one in the middle. A couple of times I had the impression one bird might be leading things, but I can’t tell for sure.
While I do not know what’s going on for the crows, it’s fun to imagine that it’s some sort of social dance and/or ceremonial encounter.
I would be interested to hear if anyone else has observed this behavior (and in what context) and/or thoughts on what it might mean to/for the crows.