SAME SEX PARTNERSHIPS

BY ROWAN NORDQUIST

My project for this class is based on the existence of and the relationships within same-sex bird pairs. My inspiration for this came from the fact that I am a member of the LGBTQ community, and that no one else in class was doing something similar to me. I wondered if birds formed same-sex pairs at all, and, if they did, for what reasons. I wondered how they would raise their offspring, and how they would even have babies if both birds in a couple are the same sex. I also wondered if the relationship of a same-sex bird couple had any emotional weight, if the relationship was purely for the sake of raising young, or finding food, or simply because the two birds had bonded. To complete my project, I had to complete a visual portion (art in some medium) and a research essay portion. The visual part I knew would be easy, but the research part would be the biggest challenge. I had a lot to think about.

Firstly, I brainstormed on the visual part of my project. I decided to create a colored pencil drawing—since I’m better with pencil than any other medium—involving two crows, an homage to the class name and topic. The crows in my drawing would be facing each other with their beaks touching. The crows would be rainbow-colored, to symbolize the same-sex bonds birds can make. My drawing idea done, I gathered my materials and started work on the research part of my project.

Through some of the research I’ve done so far for my essay, I’ve found out that many species of birds display homosexual behaviors, so that answered my question as to whether same-sex bird pairs could even exist. I’ve also learned that homosexual bird pairs, be they male-male or female-female, are just as capable of raising healthy young as heterosexual bird pairs. Female same-sex pairs are usually capable of raising about twice as many young as heterosexual pairs, because two females will lay more total eggs in a nest than one female will. Another fact I learned is that birds less devoted to parenting engage in more homosexual behavior. Though there is still much to read and write, I have gathered a good number of resources for my essay.

Overall, learning about homosexuality in birds has been an interesting and satisfying endeavor for me. I have been reassured and comforted by the fact that homosexuality exists in many animals. I have realized what a complex place the animal world is, and I have also learned that there is quite a bit of research on animal homosexuality already discovered, and that there is so much more out there. It has been a humbling and eye-opening experience, and one that I will carry with me for a long time to come.

MOBBING CORVIDS!

BY JENNA BEVERLY

When a predator or other threat has been spotted, some birds will engage in an activity known as “mobbing”. This consists of a loud vocal assault on the offender, and is commonly accompanied by physical assault such as chase, diving at, and attacking the subject. Although many species have been known to mob, corvids in particular have developed this behavior quite well and appear to employ it frequently. 

So why do corvids mob? Consider that predators often rely on the element of surprise to attack their victims. Eagles and hawks pose a real danger to corvids and their offspring if gone unnoticed. However, if corvids notice a predator and launch a vocal and physical assault on it, it takes away the predator’s element of surprise and essentially disarms it. 

I was fortunate enough to see this behavior with my own eyes just a few weeks ago. I heard it before I saw it - loud, menacing cawing of crows and the frantic chirping of a bald eagle. When I walked to my window to see the commotion, I was not disappointed. The crows, though considerably smaller than eagle, appeared to be fearless. They worked together to keep the eagle surrounded at all times, often one flying above the eagle with the other flying below. Sometimes they would suddenly drop from the sky and appear to collide with the eagle. The birds were difficult to photograph, as they were flying quickly and somewhat distant, but I grabbed my zoom lens and attempted a photograph anyway:

Corvid mobbing a Bald Eagle!

When a group of 40-50 crows came in from the East, perched in surrounding trees, and began to caw loudly, their presence seemed to make the eagle uneasy as shortly after the two crows and one that seemed to be a raven, successfully chased it out of the area.

Last week I witnessed a similar thing happen with a hawk in a Target parking lot, and just this morning saw a group of 15-20 crows mob a large seagull. The gull mobbing took place right outside my window, in the same place where the eagle was mobbed. It’s interesting that I had never once noticed crows mobbing anyone, but since learning about the behavior I notice it all the time.

It should be noted that mobbing does not come without risk. An eagle or other large bird of prey may snatch a flying crow and make a meal of it. But to crows the rewards of mobbing outweigh the risks - often times, the predator will simply leave the area and hunt somewhere else where its prey is less hostile and unaware of its presence. 

However, other birds aren’t the only targets of these assaults. Crows have also been known to mob humans and even pets who have given the crows reason to see them as a threat. Researcher John Marzluff found that not only do crows consistently mob people they perceive as threats, but the mobbing intensifies over time. As he notes in his book Gifts of the Crow, young fledglings learn who to mob by watching their parents, and even when the parents are no longer around the fledglings will continue to mob those individuals. And these individuals aren’t soon forgotten – crows have been known to “hold grudges” against people for many years.

Crows may be small relative to people and birds of prey, but they are not to be underestimated. Mobbing is just one way they have proven that they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

OUT OF SIGHT, BUT NOT OUT OF MIND

BY ISAIAS NIETO

Out of sight, but not out of mind.

Hocus and Pocus                

 The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is known to be mischievous, cunning, playful, and even a little crafty. One ability that crows appear to be really good at is hiding food, or caching. Crows hide their food in caches so that they can come back later to eat their hidden treats. If you were walking in a grassy field or park, you may never know that food storages are all around you, which were left by these resourceful birds.  Many of these caches are located in my backyard. I know this because I have been watching two crows hide their food on my property for seven months. I am partly responsible for this unique avian activity because I fed them in order to observe them. In turn, I would like to use the observation as basis for future research.

 I am a student at the University of Washington in Bothell, and I have been feeding two American crows in my backyard in order to earn their trust so that I can study their cognitive behaviors. One of the most interesting behaviors that I have witnessed is watching my two American crows cache their food in my backyard. I named these two crows Hocus and Pocus because of their ability to make their food vanish right in front of my eyes. Their mastery of the now you see it, now you don't trick would make any up-and-coming magician jealous with envy.

Hocus and Pocus picking peanuts

 I feed them bread or hard-shelled unsalted peanuts around the same time every other day. The crows and I go through the same ritual each time I feed them. I walk outside into my backyard, call their names, they call back as they fly down to the roof of my house. I drop the peanuts or bread and walk away, they immediately swoop down from my roof and eat the food. I have learned their shell-cracking eating habits by watching them hold the peanuts with their feet while they bob their heads back and forth and peck at the hard shells to get to the meaty nuts inside. This eating behavior is the same every time. One would find this behavior monotonous after watching for seven moths straight, but there is one other thing that they do each time they eat that is remarkable every time I witness it.

                  

Caching spot where food was hidden

Hocus and Pocus love to hide their food in my backyard, and they are darn good at it. I've witnessed this behavior many times, and each time I am amazed at the craftiness of their hiding skills. Watching them find the perfect spot to dig in the grass to make a hole, place their peanuts or bread into the hole, and then find grass, leaves, or twigs to cover their prize, never gets old no matter how many times I've seen them do it. After they cache their food and fly away I have walked right up to the hiding spot and I always have trouble finding it, even after I just watched them hide it. They are that good at hiding their food!

After several days, I have walked back to the hiding spots and the food is always gone. The two crows have come back at some point and redeemed their tasty prizes!  There is no trace of crumbs, peanut shells, or any indicator that there was once food in the hiding spot. How they remember where their food is hidden is still a mystery to me, but it never ceases to amaze me that they can always find it.

                  

The two crows, Hocus and Pocus, are the wizards of my backyard and they have rightly earned their names. Even after seven months, their ability to play hide-and-seek with food is something that still amazes me. In the next seven months, I expect to still be in awe of their search and rescue proficiency regarding their food. I can only imagine what new discoveries I will make from my two corvid friends.