Saturday, July 19, 2014

Do adult ravens trick juvenile ravens to keep the best food for themselves?

When I watch birds I most watch common ravens close to home. I don't go for long treks across boggy ground to see them; they tend to show up around where I live. I suppose they come around because I feed them: eggs, lard, cheezies, meat and other stuff.
Right now I get visited by two adult ravens and about four very noisy juveniles. I suspect that parents have kicked them out of the nest but they still follow their parents around to beg for food.
Today I watched some interesting interaction.
I threw an egg and one of the adults took off with it; pursued by two juveniles. The adult started eating it, they kept whining and eventually the adult abandoned it to them. Feeling sorry I threw another egg and the adult grabbed it. Then something different happened. The adult dropped the egg by the edge of some tall grass and headed into the tall grass and came out with some rolls. I recognized them as ones I had thrown out earlier; the adult had cached them in the grass.
The adult started to eat the rolls. The juveniles approached. While this was going on another adult raven came and grabbed the egg and took off. The first adult broke up the rolls and gave pieces to a juvenile. Eventually two juveniles grabbed big chunks of the rolls for themselves.
It left me wondering: was this a deliberate strategy to divert the attention of the juvenile ravens while the adult raven removed the egg? Eggs, after all, are a favourite food.
If you want to see more pictures of ravens take a look at the ravens gallery on my website.







1 comment:

  1. LOL great pictures and story, What crafty creatures they are! You should write a book on raven behavior. :)

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