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Have any of y'all ever bonded with a Crow (or Raven)?

2,809 Views | 42 Replies | Last: 59 min ago by Gunny456
LETTUCE PRAY
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..or any Corvid for that matter.

I'm not talking about domesticated birds, but you can include stories of that nature as well.

I know that Crows in particular can be social with humans. Just curious to see if any of you boys have ever had a Crow that was a bro
Kenneth_2003
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AG
Coworker tried with a couple crows at our shop .
She had a baby and I think they pretty much moved on while she was out.
Apache
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AG
A raven landed at my water bucked yesterday (See my "Wildlife in the Greenbelt" post)
I left some pecans there for it in case it showed up again today. Squirrel robbers took these gifts.
Many squirrels may will die in order for me to be with my Raven spirit animal.
tx4guns
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I've heard of them leaving gifts for humans like shiny objects or pebbles in return for feeding them corn or nuts.
LETTUCE PRAY
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tx4guns said:

I've heard of them leaving gifts for humans like shiny objects or pebbles in return for feeding them corn or nuts.


Could this be considered bartering?
TarponChaser
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Just once.

A crow brought me back from the dead when my fiance and I were brutally murdered by some thugs working for a local crime boss. The crow then allowed me to exact my revenge on my killers.
bigevent99
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We lived in England and my son was 11. He'd go up and sit on the roof and voice call to the crows. Just a kid messing around. One day a crow flew very low over him and dropped a piece of bread right in front of him. To this day he swears it did it on purpose, and I kinda believe it too.
O.G.
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There was a gentleman on the Joe Rogan show a couple of years back, some sort of scientist but I can't remember which dicipline, that talked about giving a crow bits of cat food etc over time.

Eventually the Crow would shadow him on walks etc.

Edit: Scientist was from New Mexico, if I'm not mistaken. Talked about all of the fawna that was in North America pre-mankind.
Rattler12
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Had a pet crow named Pronto when I was a kid. They like shiny objects. We had central air installed in the house on the dairy back in the mid 60's and an A/C contractor that Montgomery Wards contracted with did the install. The guys left their tool compartment doors open on their truck and Pronto took out dang near every socket, wrench etc and had them scattered all over the yard. It caused quite a stink. Fast forward a few years and I meet the girl who became my first wife at a dance in Poth. She was from San Antonio. I meet her family and her sister's husband owned the A/C contracting company that installed our system on the farm in Karnes County 5 years earlier.....
87Flyfisher
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AG
Tried to, but after several failed attempts I said "Nevermore!".
Ragoo
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Not Raven but my dad has a thing for Foxes. He has property in Wilson county, house out hwy 46 nw from NB, and a condo south of Breckenridge Colorado. All three locations he has a pair of foxes that come out to greet him. Of course he tosses a few crumbs their way. But they know when he is around and will show up at dusk.
nealan
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That was Dan Flores. Author of "Wild New World" among other things. He's also been on Meateater a couple times
O.G.
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nealan said:

That was Dan Flores. Author of "Wild New World" among other things. He's also been on Meateater a couple times
Thank you.

Found a clip:

barnacle bob
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Funny you bring this up.

After I graduated I spent a year working at a gas station in Yellowstone. Ravens are a pain to deal with, but are amazing scavengers.

I've seen them open back backs and small compartments.

In the winter the roads are snowed in and travel is by snow machine only. There was a station 20 miles away that only had one guy working there and I took one day a week covering his weekend. The guy I coveted was a real jerk and insisted I set things up the same way he did. This a full service operation. Hard to explain the set up, but he had an obnoxious tip jar he insisted be set out. Tips were a thing, but I didn't like to broadcast that, and the jar really rubbed me the wrong way.

There would be long stretches without any riders, it could be hours between customers and I took that time to train a Raven to look in the tip jar for peanut M&Ms I got my coworker to do the same that covered the other day. By end of season the bird would aggressively attack the jar and make a mess of the display. It brought me great joy to hear the jerk complain about the problem bird!
BoerneGator
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Had the bastages steal my tacos out of my golf cart at Olmos Park! Oughta be a law!
Gunny456
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Never bonded with a Crow but dated a gal that said she was 1/2 Blackfoot for a bit.

Makes me think of the movie Mountain Man where C. Heston and Brian Keith always arguing…. over Crow or Blackfoot. " It was Crow… no it was Blackfoot GDammit! "
Apache
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Gunny speak with crooked tongue. Him heap big liar!!
Gunny456
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Ya think?
ETA: Well she claimed she was, anyway, I will say she was bs-t crazy after some tequila shots!
Jackrabbit Ag
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I've never bonded with one, but I have had to eat a bunch of crow during football season over my lifetime.

It's tough being an Aggie sometimes.



Gunny456
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AG
Post of the day right there!
Gunny456
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clarythedrill
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For anyone who has been in the Army and gone to the NTC, you have seen the crows out there and they are quite large. We used to call them Soul Chickens.

I have seen a crow land on the back of a tank and grab an MRE and fly off with it and then rip it open for the contents. They are really cool birds if you ask me.
FamousAgg
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I was just using Grok to ask about this when I read the post. Results below.

Developing a relationship with a crow can be a rewarding experience, as crows are highly intelligent, social birds known for their problem-solving abilities and memory. Here's how you can build a connection with one over time:
Start by observing crows in your areawatch their routines, like where they perch or feed, to get familiar with their habits. Consistency is key, so pick a spot where you'll regularly encounter them, like a park or your backyard. Begin offering food, as crows are omnivorous and respond well to offerings like unsalted peanuts (in the shell), bits of meat, or dry pet food. Place the food in the same location at a similar time each day to establish a pattern they can recognize.
Patience is essentialdon't approach them too quickly or force interaction. At first, they'll likely watch from a distance, wary of you. Stay calm, move slowly, and keep your distance while they eat. Over time, they may grow bolder, coming closer as they associate you with a reliable food source. You can also try making a distinct sound, like a whistle or a specific call, each time you offer food, so they learn to link it with your presence.
Crows are great at recognizing faces, so wearing consistent clothing or accessories might help them identify you. Avoid sudden movements or loud noises, as they're easily spooked. If you're lucky, they might start bringing you small "gifts" like shiny objectsa sign they're warming up to you.
It's a slow process, built on trust, and every crow's personality is different. Some may never get fully comfortable, but with time and respect, you could earn their curiosity or even loyalty. Have you got a crow in mind you'd like to befriend?
SGrem
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Brooks Hatlen had purdy cool relationship with Jake....
bam02
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Apache said:

A raven landed at my water bucked yesterday (See my "Wildlife in the Greenbelt" post)
I left some pecans there for it in case it showed up again today. Squirrel robbers took these gifts.
Many squirrels may will die in order for me to be with my Raven spirit animal.


Squirrels are scum.
agsalaska
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Serious Lee
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theyre really not that smart. i shot one once when i was a kid about 75 yards away, and the flock started to scatter. about 5 seconds later they realized one was missing. they all flew back and huddled around it, raising all kinds of hell.

so i shot another. they scattered for a few seconds only to come back and do the same song and dance. it was like the scene with the gook sniper in full metal jacket. i guess they cant leave a fallen man behind either. i got 4 or 5 before they realized what was going on and finally left for good. slow learners if you ask me.
GSS
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50+ yrs ago (yeah, I'm old), two brothers, late teens, that I knew captured a young crow, kept him caged till it trusted them, he was named "Devil"...
Devil learned to talk, with phrases related to being around a home: "shut the door", "git outta here", maybe one more. You could tell it strained to get out the words, but quite clear.
And it did love shiny objects, shoe eyelets, pennies, and it stole their Dad's watch, when he left it on an outside table....an a year later their Mom saw the crow dragging a watch, across the patio..Dad's watch.
It would perch above you, and if you flipped it a penny, it would catch it in its beak, then put it under a foot, then another, then another...and when they started slipping out, it would start cawing (frustration?).

One day we were changing out spark plugs on one of their trucks, Devil would sneak in and try and take a spark plug!
I'll contact the remaining brother, and see what other stories (and phrases) Devil was involved in.
NRA Life
TSRA Life
LETTUCE PRAY
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*I'll just keep my thoughts to myself
Champion of Fireball
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tx4guns said:

I've heard of them leaving gifts for humans like shiny objects or pebbles in return for feeding them corn or nuts.


Do our tariffs match? Gone are the days they can just impose whatever tariff they want on us.
EMY92
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This guy was hanging out at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park last week. Absolutely no fear of humans. I'm sure he gets plenty of snacks hanging around there.

Gunny456
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There are lots of them up on our place in the Ozarks. Our MCD biologist says they actually have family groups…..like mother, father, siblings, aunts, uncles etc.
We laugh as after big rains they land in our yard and pull up big earthworms that are near the surface. My wife says they look like they are sucking noodles down.
They are very mouthy and sometimes we will hear a bunch of them squawking loudly back in the woods like they're having a crow convention.
My dad believed they were very sacred birds and that when you had a family member pass and you saw a crow that was them returning to keep watch on you.
I think they are intelligent as heck.
ought1ag
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mhnatt
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We own a mountain home in Wyoming bordering YNP. My son just died a few months prior. My family and I were staying at this home and a crow came and went psycho. Every day, all day long, he'd peck/bang on the bedroom windows. Then he started pecking and banging on the lower portion of our cars. This went on for weeks. It got so bad that the crow left blood smeared all over the cars and windows from his beak pecking. One day it stopped. We found the crow dead.

A friend then died a week later so we had to come back to College Station for his funeral. Shortly after this one night, I had woken up to a dream that the house was destroyed by a landslide. I told my wife the dream. She said wow and we went back to sleep

Then 14 hours later we got a call that a mountain landslide wiped out the mountain home on an otherwise bright sunny day. The landslide and creek took out everything except a shrine that we had for my son. We were all supposed to be there but decided to stay in CS to celebrate my father's last birthday (96yo) in which he subsequently died.

I don't know but do no more stuff goes on than we realize.
McInnis
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That's pretty eerie. Did you rebuild the cabin? I've seen you mention it before, is it one of those built along Mormon Creek? I hike in that area a lot, those and the ones along the Eagle Creek campground are the only ones I can think of that far west along the Northfork.
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