X Marks the Spot. Or Does It?
Like squirrels storing away nuts for winter, crows, ravens, and other birds in the family group called corvids excel at hiding food for munching later. This behavior is called caching. The birds have a remarkable ability to remember where they stashed food. They will even fake like they are making a cache if they think other birds are watching, and then stash the food somewhere else.
Food isn’t the only thing that crows cache. They collect pebbles, shells, shiny things, or anything else they find interesting. In some cases, they have left some of those trinkets as gifts for humans who have fed them.
There is no record of famous crow pirates with buried treasure, but arrrr wouldn’t put it past these bright birds, mateys.
When you look, you see.
Wondering where you can see a crow caching one of its treasures? Well, if the crow is doing its job, you won’t have much chance! Fortunately, there is always a chance when you watch nature carefully. Here’s an example:
NestWatch is a citizen science program established to help monitor the nesting habits and nesting trends for birds all across the United States. Participants can upload photos and videos, and one person thought he had caught a crow on video munching on some wood chips?! As it turns out, crow expert Kevin McGowan thinks the video shows a crow grabbing a cached piece of food out of the wood chips instead. Check it out and see what you think. Did this crow get caught visiting its secret stash? https://nestwatch.org/connect/participant-photo/crows-and-wood-chips/
Dig a little deeper into the treasure trove of information about crows.
I hope you’ll uncover some new gems in the bountiful booty of crow knowledge below:
Kids, remember to ask a parent, teacher, or librarian for help whenever you are looking for books or using the Internet. I always try to make sure to share kid-friendly books and resources, but websites are changing all the time, so always check with an adult first.
- The University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web mentions that when crows cache nuts they may be helping in the dispersal of seeds in the ecosystem. Find out lots of other cool stuff about crows in that article here: http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Corvus_brachyrhynchos/
- The Smithsonian’s National Zoo points out that crows are “moderate” cachers which means they cache all year but they don’t depend solely on those cached items. Read more about crow dining habits and other curious behaviors like “anting” on the National Zoo’s website: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/news/consummate-opportunist
- My family loves the Science Comics books, and fortunately they added a book about crows to this awesome collection. Check with your librarian for Science Comics: Crows by Kyla Vanderklugt or ask an adult if they’d like to grab a copy for you. I’ve included a link here to help them find it at a local bookstore: https://www.bookstorelink.com/9781626728028