Posted 19/6/26
Feeding the birds is also a form of prayer. – Pope Pius XII
A few weeks ago, I started feeding the crows at my local park. I have always heard and read how intelligent these birds can be, with reasoning skills comparable to (apparently) a 5- to 7-year-old child. Crows are also known for being capable of recognizing and remembering individual human faces. This last one is, of course, what made me want to try and befriend them, partly as an experiment to see their intelligence at play for myself.
So far, I have identified around 4 to 6 crow pairs along the usual route I take. Each crow pair usually keeps to their own territory, so I can be quite sure they are always the same crows. At first, they were all pretty shy (with more intelligence comes greater caution around humans) and only took the food once I was already far away. But now some of them come flying to perch near me once they see me coming, though I still need to look away for them to take the food.
The beast consumes its wretched meal
Why?
I guess that’s the real question. Honestly, I just wanted to get closer to the nature around me. The crows being inherently so intelligent just made that option the most interesting. I feel like the kind of blind and complete trust an animal can have for a human can only really be seen in small children. And I like having someone or something show this kind of trust towards me.
Hopes for the future
Some of my long-term goals would be to have a crow let me touch it or have one land on my arm or head or shoulder. I also read that crows sometimes bring gifts to people (small shiny or colorful things) in exchange for food. But in case those are too ambitious, I would be content with just being able to feed one directly from my hand. I will continue to post updates on my progress.