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Quoth the [Crow], "I'm Fucking Awesome."

2456

Posts

  • GimGim a tall glass of water Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Ugh.

    I am sorry I asked. Please carry on.

    Gim on
  • DalbozDalboz Resident Puppy Eater Right behind you...Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I find this thread to be lacking:
    crow-1.jpg

    That being said, I don't see many crows around my area anymore. A whole slew of them got killed off by the West Nile virus a few years ago, and I don't think they've really recovered from it.

    Dalboz on
  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    This is one of my favourite crow videos.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0&feature=related

    Rook on
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Apparently, a species of crow is one of the few species that has learned how to feed on the toxic cane toad. The cane toad apparently has a very poisonous skin along its back, but not on its belly. Crows apparently learned to flip the toads on their back and then eat them from the underside.!
    So what beastie will Australia import to get rid of the crows when they inevitably escape and start to take up a population niche?
    What do you mean 'escape', they're pretty common in urban areas.

    Walking through my old high school after hours was pretty damn creepy. They'd just sit there and watch you pass by D:
    I was making a reference to every scheme Australia has had to control pests(i.e. rabbits) ever blowing up in their faces.

    Fencingsax on
  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Rook wrote: »
    This is one of my favourite crow videos.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0&feature=related

    Hiding in plain sight.

    DasUberEdward on
    steam_sig.png
  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Sonderval wrote: »
    Any of you guys ever witness a Crow's funeral?

    I have.

    Years ago, one morning when I was walking from my home to my old school, I would cross a large park area. On this day, as I was walking along, I could see some crows on the ground in the distance. They were kinda in my path, but I just ignored them, expecting them to fly off when I got closer, as birds are want to do.

    When I was about 20ft away, they weren't budging. They were also very quiet. I also noted that they had formed a circle around another crow - ok, I thought, thats weird. So I started to veer towards this assembly. I then realized that the bird in the middle wasn't moving. At all. He/she was dead. The other crows were standing around, just watching or holding some sort of vigil. I was within 10ft of them by now, utterly fascinated. None of them stirred at my approach, so I stopped at this distance and just watched. A few crows regarded me, but none of them seemed wary of me. It seemed like they were hanging around the dead crow for some purpose.

    So I stood there for a good 5 minutes before I had to make a move to get to school on time. I still remember the whole experience vividly. When I was walking home that evening, the crows body was there, but the vigil had ended. I wasn't freaked out by seeing this, rather as I have become older I realize I was witness to something pretty special in nature. I've had a deep respect for crows ever since - they are definitely brighter then you'd think.

    *sniff*

    Rhesus Positive on
    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • The CatThe Cat Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Apparently, a species of crow is one of the few species that has learned how to feed on the toxic cane toad. The cane toad apparently has a very poisonous skin along its back, but not on its belly. Crows apparently learned to flip the toads on their back and then eat them from the underside.!
    So what beastie will Australia import to get rid of the crows when they inevitably escape and start to take up a population niche?
    What do you mean 'escape', they're pretty common in urban areas.

    Walking through my old high school after hours was pretty damn creepy. They'd just sit there and watch you pass by D:
    I was making a reference to every scheme Australia has had to control pests(i.e. rabbits) ever blowing up in their faces.
    hey, mixo worked pretty well. and the prickly pear moth, that was a frickin' lifesaver.

    but yes, its a pretty major rule of ecology that something like 95% of species introductions go badly wrong. Its not just Oz :P

    The Cat on
    tmsig.jpg
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Apparently, a species of crow is one of the few species that has learned how to feed on the toxic cane toad. The cane toad apparently has a very poisonous skin along its back, but not on its belly. Crows apparently learned to flip the toads on their back and then eat them from the underside.!
    So what beastie will Australia import to get rid of the crows when they inevitably escape and start to take up a population niche?
    What do you mean 'escape', they're pretty common in urban areas.

    Walking through my old high school after hours was pretty damn creepy. They'd just sit there and watch you pass by D:
    I was making a reference to every scheme Australia has had to control pests(i.e. rabbits) ever blowing up in their faces.
    hey, mixo worked pretty well. and the prickly pear moth, that was a frickin' lifesaver.

    but yes, its a pretty major rule of ecology that something like 95% of species introductions go badly wrong. Its not just Oz :P
    But Down Under had the hilarious sequence of Rabbits, stoats, cats, dogs, and so on. Basically everything they tried backfired on them.

    Fencingsax on
  • The CatThe Cat Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Apparently, a species of crow is one of the few species that has learned how to feed on the toxic cane toad. The cane toad apparently has a very poisonous skin along its back, but not on its belly. Crows apparently learned to flip the toads on their back and then eat them from the underside.!
    So what beastie will Australia import to get rid of the crows when they inevitably escape and start to take up a population niche?
    What do you mean 'escape', they're pretty common in urban areas.

    Walking through my old high school after hours was pretty damn creepy. They'd just sit there and watch you pass by D:
    I was making a reference to every scheme Australia has had to control pests(i.e. rabbits) ever blowing up in their faces.
    hey, mixo worked pretty well. and the prickly pear moth, that was a frickin' lifesaver.

    but yes, its a pretty major rule of ecology that something like 95% of species introductions go badly wrong. Its not just Oz :P
    But Down Under had the hilarious sequence of Rabbits, stoats, cats, dogs, and so on. Basically everything they tried backfired on them.
    Yeah, we are kind of a special case. The local ecology was so isolated for so long that it never developed the ability to handle most of the new arrivals (in terms of macrofauna mostly, but the same applies to a number of plants and fish). That was the modus operandi of biologists back then, though. Don't think too much, just keep tinkering and hope you wind up with something that looks vaguely like Jolly Olde England :P

    The Cat on
    tmsig.jpg
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Apparently, a species of crow is one of the few species that has learned how to feed on the toxic cane toad. The cane toad apparently has a very poisonous skin along its back, but not on its belly. Crows apparently learned to flip the toads on their back and then eat them from the underside.!
    So what beastie will Australia import to get rid of the crows when they inevitably escape and start to take up a population niche?
    What do you mean 'escape', they're pretty common in urban areas.

    Walking through my old high school after hours was pretty damn creepy. They'd just sit there and watch you pass by D:
    I was making a reference to every scheme Australia has had to control pests(i.e. rabbits) ever blowing up in their faces.
    hey, mixo worked pretty well. and the prickly pear moth, that was a frickin' lifesaver.

    but yes, its a pretty major rule of ecology that something like 95% of species introductions go badly wrong. Its not just Oz :P
    But Down Under had the hilarious sequence of Rabbits, stoats, cats, dogs, and so on. Basically everything they tried backfired on them.
    Yeah, we are kind of a special case. The local ecology was so isolated for so long that it never developed the ability to handle most of the new arrivals (in terms of macrofauna mostly, but the same applies to a number of plants and fish). That was the modus operandi of biologists back then, though. Don't think too much, just keep tinkering and hope you wind up with something that looks vaguely like Jolly Olde England :P
    I am now imagining England with cassowaries running about. It amuses me.

    Fencingsax on
  • The CatThe Cat Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    man cassowaries would be the deadliest thing in the country next to knife-wielding chavs

    and ravens, of course. I'll stop dancing through tangents now.

    The Cat on
    tmsig.jpg
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I think cassowaries would make for a fine solution to, ahem, cut back on the delinquent youths loitering all about.

    DarkPrimus on
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Crows are pretty awesome. I've always been fond of them myself, and they're probably my favorite birds. We're big into birds back at my parent's house and although my dad has got most of the smaller birds to come around to eat the massive amounts of food he leaves out for them, he never had much luck with the crows. They're too suspicious, and too intelligent. He's also noticed that they work in teams - ie, there's a scout and a couple of sentries who look out for the scout whenever they swoop down to try to get something to eat.

    He claims that one of his old friends had a pet crow that could speak, like a parrot. I don't know if it's true or not.

    Also, for all the talk of our impending avian overlords, well...I'm not sure it will play out as well as we hoped.
    birds_shot4l.jpg

    Duffel on
  • Premier kakosPremier kakos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    Duffel wrote: »
    He claims that one of his old friends had a pet crow that could speak, like a parrot. I don't know if it's true or not.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAQjgC9Nl84

    Crows are pretty closely related to parrots and they share the ability to make human sounds.

    Premier kakos on
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I knew ravens could do the mimicry thing, I didn't think crows could, though. Yes, I'm aware they're very closely related. I actually have a nonfiction book called Mind of the Raven, based on the author, Bernd Heinrich, studying the birds and how they think. Apparently people who raise the things often develop their own sort of secret "language" with their pet birds made up of simple sounds that they use to communicate with one another.

    BloodySloth on
  • SondervalSonderval Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Pet crows?

    How do you manage to get them?

    Sonderval on
    Pokemon White: 3611 0563 3196
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    sweawubanpo6.png
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Sonderval wrote: »
    Pet crows?

    How do you manage to get them?

    The author's pets were orphaned chicks, if I recall correctly. You basically just have to get them to believe you're their parent and then feed them roadkill and other nasty crow food until they can go out and feed themselves.

    BloodySloth on
  • MedopineMedopine __BANNED USERS regular
    edited April 2009
    Medopine wrote: »
    Okay those videos are seriously creepy as hell

    I mean, I knew crows were smart, but that's like almost cephelopod-level smart. Maybe moreso; I don't know if there are recorded instances of cephelopod tool use, although in fairness it's not like squid really need tools.

    Caledonian crows are likely smarter than cephelopods. There is a good case to be made for those buggers being the second smartest animal on the planet.

    dolphins!

    Dolphins don't show the ability to transform an object never before seen into another object with different properties from the first.

    Also, dolphins have to be trained to use their little machines. Crows learn how to use vending machines all on their own.
    Not exactly. They were "trained" as well through the different stages that the vending machine went through.

    Medopine on
  • StarcrossStarcross Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Crows hate owls. This is because owls are terrifying nocturnal predators that are quite capable of killing them in their sleep. Often, if crows find where an owl sleeps during the day they'll get a huge mob together and kill it.

    Starcross on
  • SeptusSeptus Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    A muurddeeeeeerrr of crows.

    Septus on
    PSN: Kurahoshi1
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Oh shit. Oh shit. I just realized something.

    Birds evolved from dinosaurs. Crows are birds. Crows evolved from dinosaurs.

    Crows are highly evolved, intelligent dinosaurs which can communicate, speak English, make tools to solve problems, produce art, and work together in teams to achieve goals.

    We're fucked.
    azala.jpg

    PUNY APES!

    Duffel on
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Clever Girl

    Fencingsax on
  • Premier kakosPremier kakos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    Sonderval wrote: »
    Pet crows?

    How do you manage to get them?

    The author's pets were orphaned chicks, if I recall correctly. You basically just have to get them to believe you're their parent and then feed them roadkill and other nasty crow food until they can go out and feed themselves.

    In the US, it's illegal to have crows as pets. However, if you become a caretaker for orphaned or injured crows, you can get a de facto crow pet.

    Premier kakos on
  • thisisntwallythisisntwally Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Rikushix wrote: »
    Okay those videos are seriously creepy as hell

    I mean, I knew crows were smart, but that's like almost cephelopod-level smart. Maybe moreso; I don't know if there are recorded instances of cephelopod tool use, although in fairness it's not like squid really need tools.

    So when crows develop phosphorescent cells and learn to change colour, they'll team up with the dolphins and then we'll really be screwed.

    Anyway. I've always thought crows were awesome.

    I have a related question:

    Crows.
    Ravens.
    Rooks.

    Are they all the same thing, and just synonyms? My understanding is that a "rook" is just the british word for crow. But are ravens the same as crows and rooks?

    Ravens have four pinion feathers on each wing, while crows only have three. So the differance is just a matter of a pinion.

    thisisntwally on
    #someshit
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Rikushix wrote: »
    Okay those videos are seriously creepy as hell

    I mean, I knew crows were smart, but that's like almost cephelopod-level smart. Maybe moreso; I don't know if there are recorded instances of cephelopod tool use, although in fairness it's not like squid really need tools.

    So when crows develop phosphorescent cells and learn to change colour, they'll team up with the dolphins and then we'll really be screwed.

    Anyway. I've always thought crows were awesome.

    I have a related question:

    Crows.
    Ravens.
    Rooks.

    Are they all the same thing, and just synonyms? My understanding is that a "rook" is just the british word for crow. But are ravens the same as crows and rooks?

    Ravens have four pinion feathers on each wing, while crows only have three. So the differance is just a matter of a pinion.
    .....AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH

    Fencingsax on
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    In the US, it's illegal to have crows as pets. However, if you become a caretaker for orphaned or injured crows, you can get a de facto crow pet.
    You'd want your pet crow to be a little injured anyway, honestly. I'd be afraid a perfectly healthy crow would just get bored with me and fly away one day.

    Is there any reason you can't buy crows as pets just like you would a parakeet or a macaw? Seems like they ought to be just as easy to domesticate, and they're a hell of a lot easier to find, too.

    Duffel on
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Ravens have four pinion feathers on each wing, while crows only have three. So the differance is just a matter of a pinion.

    That's hardly the only difference, but it's true that most of the differences tend to be superficial. Ravens tend to be larger, tend to have more arched beaks, etc. There are differences in social structure, as well.

    EDIT: According to Wikipedia:
    Apart from its greater size, the Common Raven differs from its cousins, the crows, by having a larger and heavier beak, a shaggy throat, and a wedge-shaped tail.[24] The species has a distinctive, deep, resonant prruk-prruk-prruk call, which to experienced listeners is unlike that of any other corvid. Its very wide and complex vocabulary includes a high, knocking toc-toc-toc, a dry, grating kraa, a low guttural rattle and some calls of an almost musical nature.[25]

    BloodySloth on
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Ravens have four pinion feathers on each wing, while crows only have three. So the differance is just a matter of a pinion.

    That's hardly the only difference, but it's true that most of the differences tend to be superficial. Ravens tend to be larger, tend to have more arched beaks, etc. There are differences in social structure, as well.
    Say the bolded part out loud.

    Fencingsax on
  • OptimusZedOptimusZed Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Duffel wrote: »
    Is there any reason you can't buy crows as pets just like you would a parakeet or a macaw? Seems like they ought to be just as easy to domesticate, and they're a hell of a lot easier to find, too.
    Based on the video evidence, there's a pretty good chance they would kill you and assume your identity, living off internet-bought seed and rodents until your credit ran out and they left to find another luckless benefactor.

    OptimusZed on
    We're reading Rifts. You should too. You know you want to. Now With Ninjas!

    They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I get the wordplay. I'm just putting more information into a thread about crow information.

    BloodySloth on
  • thisisntwallythisisntwally Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I get the wordplay. I'm just putting more information into a thread about crow information.

    And trying to correct my joke!

    thisisntwally on
    #someshit
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    wiki wrote:
    A group of crows is called a "murder."

    ...Reassuring.

    Duffel on
  • noweatnoweat Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    since we're bringing up ravens, you'll find in the nw that the native american's creation story and most other myths center on ravens and how smart they are. always tricking some other animals in the pantheon but especially picking on the eagles.

    i grew up watching those bastards team up to steal fish from eagles in flight. i dunno about overlord crafty, but crafty never the less.

    noweat on
    steam_sig.png
  • TachTach Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    The Cat wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Apparently, a species of crow is one of the few species that has learned how to feed on the toxic cane toad. The cane toad apparently has a very poisonous skin along its back, but not on its belly. Crows apparently learned to flip the toads on their back and then eat them from the underside.!
    So what beastie will Australia import to get rid of the crows when they inevitably escape and start to take up a population niche?
    What do you mean 'escape', they're pretty common in urban areas.

    Walking through my old high school after hours was pretty damn creepy. They'd just sit there and watch you pass by D:
    I was making a reference to every scheme Australia has had to control pests(i.e. rabbits) ever blowing up in their faces.
    hey, mixo worked pretty well. and the prickly pear moth, that was a frickin' lifesaver.

    but yes, its a pretty major rule of ecology that something like 95% of species introductions go badly wrong. Its not just Oz :P

    This guy would agree:
    vc55.jpg

    Tach on
  • RikushixRikushix VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Rikushix wrote: »
    Okay those videos are seriously creepy as hell

    I mean, I knew crows were smart, but that's like almost cephelopod-level smart. Maybe moreso; I don't know if there are recorded instances of cephelopod tool use, although in fairness it's not like squid really need tools.

    So when crows develop phosphorescent cells and learn to change colour, they'll team up with the dolphins and then we'll really be screwed.

    Anyway. I've always thought crows were awesome.

    I have a related question:

    Crows.
    Ravens.
    Rooks.

    Are they all the same thing, and just synonyms? My understanding is that a "rook" is just the british word for crow. But are ravens the same as crows and rooks?

    Ravens have four pinion feathers on each wing, while crows only have three. So the differance is just a matter of a pinion.

    I'm going to strangle you.

    Rikushix on
    StKbT.jpg
  • OptimusZedOptimusZed Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    noweat wrote: »
    since we're bringing up ravens, you'll find in the nw that the native american's creation story and most other myths center on ravens and how smart they are. always tricking some other animals in the pantheon but especially picking on the eagles.

    i grew up watching those bastards team up to steal fish from eagles in flight. i dunno about overlord crafty, but crafty never the less.
    Virtually every mythology that sprung up in a region with ravens includes them as symbols/avatars for some combination of intelligence, cunning and/or death.

    They've definitely made an impression.

    OptimusZed on
    We're reading Rifts. You should too. You know you want to. Now With Ninjas!

    They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
  • SentrySentry Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Rikushix wrote: »
    Rikushix wrote: »
    Okay those videos are seriously creepy as hell

    I mean, I knew crows were smart, but that's like almost cephelopod-level smart. Maybe moreso; I don't know if there are recorded instances of cephelopod tool use, although in fairness it's not like squid really need tools.

    So when crows develop phosphorescent cells and learn to change colour, they'll team up with the dolphins and then we'll really be screwed.

    Anyway. I've always thought crows were awesome.

    I have a related question:

    Crows.
    Ravens.
    Rooks.

    Are they all the same thing, and just synonyms? My understanding is that a "rook" is just the british word for crow. But are ravens the same as crows and rooks?

    Ravens have four pinion feathers on each wing, while crows only have three. So the differance is just a matter of a pinion.

    I'm going to strangle you.

    Go for it. I reported him for awesome. so his genius will live forever... in a seldom visited subforum.

    Sentry on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    When I was a little kid, I always pretended I was the hero,' Skip said.
    'Fuck yeah, me too. What little kid ever pretended to be part of the lynch-mob?'
  • KilroyKilroy timaeusTestified Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Starcross wrote: »
    Crows hate owls. This is because owls are terrifying nocturnal predators that are quite capable of killing them in their sleep. Often, if crows find where an owl sleeps during the day they'll get a huge mob together and kill it.

    So that's why I found a dead, mutilated owl in my backyard. My dad and I spent the whole day trying to figure out what would attack an owl.

    Kilroy on
  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Once after church while my parents were in a meeting, I was wandering around and saw a crow and a couple of mockingbirds in the field next door. So I made a cawing sound really loud, and apparently I said something in crow, because the mockingbirds freaked out and started attacking the crow that they had been standing so peacefully with seconds earlier. They all started flying and the mockingbirds chased it away. I thought it was awesome at the time, but now I kinda feel bad for getting an innocent crow in trouble.

    Tofystedeth on
    steam_sig.png
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Speaking of animal languages...

    One time when I was a little kid my cousin told me she had "found out how to talk to her cat". So she brings the cat into the room and starts making these horrible schreeching caterwauling noises.

    We got a reaction from the cat, alright. Unfortunately, the only thing she knew how to say in Cattese was "DEAD NOW MOTHERFUCKER!" because the cat flipped out and attacked her.

    Now, back to talking about crows.

    Duffel on
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