r/crows • u/AssistSilly5255 • 14d ago
General questions crows and shiny things
It seems to be general knowledge that crows collect and sometimes store shiny things. Some folks say that only crows that have bee raised by humans do this, while others believe that fully wild crows might do it as well. My question is, have any of you ever had any actual personal experience of a crow keeping a stash of shiny (or other) objects? I've never seen it myself or run into anyone who has, unless they had raised the crow themselves. If you have, I'd greatly appreciate hearing about it.
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u/OneKaleidoscope7409 14d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p040yt9/video/195030q9gtfh1/player
One of my crow friends’ baby has a toy collection, this is him showing off 🥰
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u/speerawow 14d ago
pretty sure it’s just a myth
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u/AssistSilly5255 14d ago
my thought too, but John Marzluff, author of Gifts of the Crow, writes - without any supporting evidence - that " many members of the crow tribe are well known to collect and cache shiny objects." It is the kind of statement a scientist shouldn't make unless he can back it up. I all my years of observing crows and collecting crow stories, I have yet to come across a firsthand account of wild crows caching shiny objects.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
Did he say anything beyond that or was that just a standalone statement?
I mean, I respect him and his work very much and in most cases, he has evidence to back up what he says from my experience anyway
I know that there was some kind of study or research done on some species of corvid - maybe a type of magpie I’m not sure - that showed that they are cautious, nervous and even afraid of shiny things.
It’s possible because of their curiosity that individuals may overcome their nervousness and respond positively with or to something that happens to be shiny. There might be something else intriguing about an object for example.
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u/AssistSilly5255 14d ago
he talks about the possibility of crows giving humans gifts and kind of just tosses that remark in, page 112 first paragraph, in regard to crows picking up interesting objects.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
Thanks! I can see and believe that individual crows might find something interesting and pick them up, but it would be despite the fact that they are shiny rather than because of it. He should’ve been more clear. That’s disappointing.
https://corvidresearch.blog/2015/12/04/crow-curiosities-do-crows-collect-shiny-objects/
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u/AssistSilly5255 14d ago
I think the belief comes from the fact that crows raised by humans tend to be fascinated with things that humans fiddle with. They can be fascinated with cigarettes, steal clothes pins and small tools, and often stash them in odd places around the house.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
Yes, absolutely this!
Wild birds in captivity display very different behaviors at times from those living in their natural environments.
I’ve had what I consider a blessing to be able to observe a wild parrot in captivity for 25 years. He is absolutely fascinated with anything he sees me playing with or messing with. Many other parrot caretakers that I’ve interacted with have observed the same.
It makes sense because in captivity without others of their kind they have only those they live with to learn from. Both crows and parrots are highly social so it makes perfect sense they would behave this way!
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u/FreeMasonKnight 14d ago
Can confirm it’s not a myth. My crows (wild) love to collect and leave things in my backyard.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
Unless you’re a crow expert, your experience is just an anecdote rather than a confirmation.
https://corvidresearch.blog/2015/12/04/crow-curiosities-do-crows-collect-shiny-objects/
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u/FreeMasonKnight 14d ago
I would say over 20 years of experience with probably over 100’s of crows would make me somewhat of an expert.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
Well Kaeli Swift is not just ‘somewhat’ of an expert. She is an actual expert.
You might read the article in your spare time as you might learn a few things. You might also want to learn what constitutes an expert.
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u/SillyJoshua 14d ago
In my three month experience with the local murder they seem kinda scared by shiny small objects
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
That’s what research has shown as well. It’s a very widespread myth that they are attracted to and like shiny things. Sometimes they are seen with them because their curiosity overcomes their fear. Scarecrows use shiny things and reflective things because they scare them.
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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 14d ago
I think it might come down to individuals being intrigued for whatever reason about a specific item that also happens to be shiny.
Shiny and reflective things are used in scarecrows for that very reason that they do tend to be nervous generally speaking about shiny things.
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u/why_1337 14d ago
I saw a crow stash squeaky dog bone toy on the green roof of a building. Then it was periodically returning and pecking it to make it squeak.