How many weeks do crow eggs hatch? Hoodie crow - description, habitat, interesting facts

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

Hoodie- This 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 a gray crow? 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 and have cloudy Blue eyes and a pink beak. Makes sounds like a hoarse "carr". It moves along the ground with large and clumsy steps. Having sensed dangerous situation, starts to jump.

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. Your worst enemy This bird is an eagle owl, which kills them at night while they sleep.

When cold times come, birds fly away for the winter to warmer regions and, after the cold weather ends, 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 statements that among these birds there are long-livers that can outlive their life twice 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 Walnut and she brought it to the road. After the car runs over the nut, it eats it. Crows soak stale baked goods in puddles.

People often witness a flock of gray birds swarming around trash can or a 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 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 age. 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 aerobatics by the males 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, having an adult crow that has already lived independent life in the wild - 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 freedom; 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.

Having such an unusual bird will bypass material costs. 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 delight him with her long life.

A well-known bird with gray body plumage and black head, wings and tail. Similar species there are no gray crows. It is difficult to distinguish a male hoodie from a female outwardly, but males are on average slightly larger.

Young gray crows look like adults after leaving the nest, but their gray color is darker (especially on the neck) and has a brown tint, and black is without shine. There are age differences that can be seen when the bird is in your hands: young people have gray eyes, oral cavity white, in the second year of life the eyes are brown, the oral cavity is white or spotted; In adult hooded crows, the eyes are dark brown or almost black, the mouth cavity is gray or (in older ones) black. Crows weigh 430–740 g, length 44–51, wing 29.2–35.5, span 87–102 cm.

Lifestyle of Hooded Crows

The nesting habitats of hooded crows are extremely diverse; they only avoid areas completely devoid of woody vegetation, dense forests and mountains. Crows happily live next to humans, including in big cities, on the busiest streets.

They are territorial, the male defends the territory from pre-breeding time and “sings” regularly. The usual location of a crow's nest is in the crown of a tree, including on individual trees among a field, steppe, or swamp.

Nest construction begins in mid-latitudes in mid-March - early April. Both members of the couple construct them from twigs, carry earth into a tray, then line them with grass, wool, roots, moss, as well as rags, paper, etc. In cities and near roads, hooded crows often use wire instead of twigs. New nests are built every year, and material from old nests is often used.

In a clutch there are 1–7, more often 3–5 eggs of pale green, green, bluish-green color, with large spots irregular shape, brown or olive in color. Incubation begins with the 1st–3rd egg, less often after completion of the clutch, and lasts 18–21 days. The female incubates, the male carries food to her in the nest and sometimes replaces her. When people appear at the nest, the crows start screaming and fly around.

Crow chicks have gray down, the oral cavity is light pink, with pinkish-white marginal ridges. They leave the nest already able to fly, at the age of 4–5 weeks. IN middle lane this is approximately the end of May - beginning of June. Broods of hooded crows remain in the nest area for about 2 weeks, then most of them move to other places.

Eating crows

Crows are omnivores, but prefer animal food. In nature, they eat carrion, catch all kinds of invertebrates and small vertebrates, and destroy nests ( characteristic feature in the “handwriting” of the gray crow is that, when destroying a nest, they usually pull out the bedding from it), dig out rodent holes, muskrat huts, i.e. behave like small predators, and are very smart and inventive in their hunting methods. Near humans, crows feed mainly on garbage.

Crow breeding

Crows begin to breed at the end of the 2-3rd, or even the 5th year of life. Pair formation occurs in winter, with aerial games, chases, and somersaults in the air. Adult crows apparently live in permanent pairs all their lives and nest annually in the same area. However, not all birds are equally attached to a place and their mate. Young crows that do not nest spend the summer wandering, flying outside the nesting area. The longest known lifespan of the hooded crow is 19 years.

ORDER PASSERINAES - 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 constancy of pairs throughout annual cycle, undoubtedly contributes to the success of reproduction, as it creates mutual adaptation of partners to their individual traits behavior. 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 massive number 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 moult, 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 adult crows and second-year crows begin 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 food sources sufficient to survive winter conditions. 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 high voltage lines power transmission, 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 environments, crows begin laying eggs earlier than in rural areas. Most early date the beginning of breeding of the hooded crow, known for Leningrad, is April 3 (1954), the most late date-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 the years when crows begin breeding in normal timing, 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 12 to 17% of such eggs occur.

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 due to cannibalism, from 39 to 60% of clutches died [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. Hoodie 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 region. 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 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, wintering in Leningrad, next winter ended up in the Arkhangelsk region, 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 of various birds, mainly songbirds. 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 time favorite place crows feed on the shores of bodies of water, where these birds feed on various emissions, dead fish, as well as a toothless bivalve mollusk. 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.

The gray crow is a cunning and quick-witted bird. A bully and a playgirl. A source of trouble for smaller birds. One of our close neighbors in the cities.

Hoodie
Canon EOS 350D + CANON EF 70-200 f/2.8L (ISO100 1/200c f/7.1 focal length 200mm)
©Kassesinov Victor

Hoodie (Corvus commix), corvid family. At one time, it was described by C. Linnaeus as independent species, as well as the black crow. However, later studies showed that gray and black crows can have common offspring, which in turn can also have chicks. This indicates the evolutionary closeness in nature of hooded and black crows. They were combined into one species - the crow, giving each the status of a subspecies, retaining the names given by C. Linnaeus: Corvus corone corone ( black Crow), Corvus corone cornix (gray).

Black Crow
Canon EOS 600D + Canon EF-s 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (ISO1600 1/400c f/5.6 focal length 200mm)
©Kassesinova Ekaterina

What does a hooded crow look like?

It's pretty large bird. Body length is approximately 45-50cm. Live weight ranges from 450 to 600 grams.
The plumage on the head, throat, wings and tail is black. The body is gray. The beak and legs are black.

What does the gray crow eat?

This bird is omnivorous. Eating plant foods(seeds, agricultural plants). It also eats snails, frogs, lizards, and small rodents. Pecks eggs more small birds, eats chicks. Does not disdain food waste and carrion.

Range of the Hoodie Crow

Hooded crows live in countries of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor. Also lives in Scandinavian countries.
On the territory of our country, crows live from the west to the Yenisei.
There are both migratory and nomadic populations, as well as sedentary ones. The latter applies mainly to synanthropes living in cities where human activity creates favorable conditions for habitation.

Hoodie nesting. Feeding chicks

The nesting period begins in March-April, depending on the area (in the south earlier, in northern regions later).
Birds living in major cities, begin to nest 2-3 weeks earlier. The reasons for this are milder temperature conditions and an abundant food supply.
The materials used to build the nest are dry branches, grass, clay and turf. And, in addition, cotton wool, synthetics, tow, in some cases aluminum wire. Hooded crows make nests in the branches big trees in forests, groves. And also in forest parks and squares. Crows' nests have also been found on power poles, behind drainpipes and on construction cranes.
The female lays 4 to 6 eggs. The incubation period lasts approximately 18-19 days, only the female incubates the eggs, and the male brings her food. When the chicks hatch, they are fed by both parents.
The chicks fly out of the nest somewhere in mid-June.
The intelligence of gray crows
These birds are endowed with high intelligence and are very smart. There are well-known cases where crows used simple tools, in the form of sticks, to extract food. It is believed that they are able to distinguish a person walking in the park from a hunter.
Many hooded crows living near people have learned to soak pieces of dried food in water. In order to crack the nut, some birds place it on tram rails or under the wheels of cars.
Many of them like to slide down the steep roofs of residential buildings. Just like children sliding down ice slides. Similar games cause dissatisfaction with utility services.
When kept as pet gray crows can easily learn human speech.

Hoodie in the city

On the one hand, gray crows cause undoubted harm. They steal, vandalize, damage monuments and architectural structures. Their actions cause harm to public utilities. But, on the other hand, they destroy carrion and food waste. In addition, the number of small rodents such as mice and rats is reduced. Perhaps the number of these birds is a living indicator of the sanitary condition of the city.
In this regard, in some large cities, attempts have been made to reduce the number of hooded crows by shooting and trapping them. And also using pesticides. In addition to the fact that these methods highest degree They are not humane, they are also not very effective.
It would be possible to reduce the number of crows in the city by eliminating unauthorized landfills, using tightly closed containers, that is, by limiting the food supply...