i was walking along some bushes when a bird flew out from a bush in front of my path into a grass clearing. it was a very small crow. it made two quiet, short, high-pitched peeps in rapid succession, hopping in circles. i tried to walk around it, but it kept blocking my path and making the exact same peeps at me.

i got back on the stone path, and it hopped up right next to me, and starting ripping up grass and throwing it over my feet. i chuckled, and it stopped, looked up at me, and… peeped again, before continuing to bury my feet in grass.

i continued walking and it followed right next to me till the end of the path before watching me walk away and then returning to its bush.

i didn’t recognise this bird, or seen a bird do this to me or anyone else before. i’m on especially friendly terms with the corvids in my neighbourhood, but they don’t normally approach me.

any ideas? have you seen something similar?

13 points
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Crows are a lot smarter than you would think my guess is it was trying to get you to help one of its friends or something.

I’d have had a good search around the area befriending crows can actually bring you some benifit like shiny gifts, or in some cases crow bodyguards as they actually recognise individuals as friends etc.

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5 points

my guess is it was trying to get you to help one of its friends or something.

that was my first guess, but it didn’t seem like it was leading me anywhere.

i’m a little worried now.

I’d have had a good search around the area befriending crows can actually bring you some benifit like shiny gifts

when i was homeless, i shared my food with a crow. i got them to bring me coins by feeding them double portions when they brought monies.

or in some cases crow bodyguards as they actually recognise individuals as friends etc.

that’s my current relationship to the corvids in town. a long time ago i rescued a magpie from two seagulls, and since then all the corvids no longer fly away when i come near them. the magpies even defended me from a seagull one day!

but they otherwise don’t approach me, and we don’t ‘communicate’.

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3 points

If it was a baby crow, it may have lost its mother at an age where it was too young to learn from her to fear hoomans.

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2 points

I agree with others here. It wanted your attention, probably for help – either for a ‘friend’ or for itself. Could it have been a recently fledged juvenile wanting food? It may have seen mom looking for the grass and getting food from that activity, but unable to master the art.

Did you look for a nest or another bird in the original shrub? It could have been trying to keep you from finding an injured friend (killdeer fake wing injuries to lure you away from their nests).

Was it close enough that you can go back with some treats and a camera? I’d do that.

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2 points

Did you look for a nest or another bird in the original shrub?

i didn’t see anything in the bush at first glance. i tried to see if it was leading me somewhere, but it didn’t seem like it. i didn’t want to stress them out by approaching them too quickly or digging thru the bush.

they did seem very small, so it’s possible they don’t know how to feed themself. it’s not too far, so i can try checking on them sometime soon. i don’t want to invade their home, tho.

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3 points

I read the other posts about your relationship with the local birds and now I’m really thinking it is a kid saying, “Mom won’t feed me anymore, but she said you’d do it. I CAN’T!!! Look! I’m TRYING and it doesn’t WORK!”

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1 point

If it’s acting weird, assume it’s got a parasite.

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