A cordiality of gulls and crows (a new collective noun) (1 Viewer)

[mycopsycho]

I've long been interested in the intelligence of corvids, often taking time out to watch them watching you watching them and all that. Highlights include watching a posse of 20 odd choughs comming in to roost in an open sided barn. 3 or 4 birds then proceeded to indulge in some sort of acrobatic sport akin to windsurfing & skateboarding. They would take it in turns (most of the time) to ride the eddies an updrafts the barn afforded them in a stiff northerly, looping & shearing masterfully.
Another occaision when the air of competition was palpable involved 2 ravens racing each other over some sitka plantation forestry. Not that remarkable I know, until they went overhead a third time in about 5 mins the leader still taunting his pal(?) & I realised they were doing a circuit. Furthermore this folowed the forestry track below them for the complete circuit! ( about 3km )
Today however was something different, not sure what I saw! I'll describe it & you tell me what you think.
My flat window overlooks Portree bay on the Isle of Skye (Scotland). It was low tide & 100 mixed gulls & a similar number of corvids (mostly jackdaws) were busy foraging side by side as usual. Suddenly a single common gull plummeted from about 300ft vertically to pull up just before impact & manicly shear horizontally like a shearwater or fulmar. after a couple of seconds it was joined by 3 more common gulls & 7 or 8 jackdaws all performing (as best they could anyway) the same stylized switchbacking flight. nearby gulls and crows didn't flinch incase your wondering & no food was being chased. the whole thing seemed oddly choreographed. This went on for nearly 1 minute. Culture?

 

[bgalb]

I once cared for two young ravens from a week before fledging until they were a year or so old. They were never confined, but roosted in a small tree in our back yard and could come and go as they pleased. I fed them once a day with bread and lunchmeat and they seemed extremely healthy. They apparently found any other food they needed that was lacking in the diet I fed them.

I was a USAF pilot stationed in New Mexico, USA and lived on the airbase family housing, so the ravens were protected from hunters and harm by other humans by a friendly neighborhood that enjoyed their presence in our midst. They had a great old time playing in the yard sprinklers and making mock dive-bomb attacks on neighborhood dogs.

They usually hung around near our home and would fly in and perch on our yard fence to be fed when I yelled for them. I was astonished at their intelligence and their playful antics. Once, when my family went on holiday for a week, I introduced them to our across the street neighbor and let him feed them and hear his voice. When I returned from holiday my neighbor said they always came to be fed when he called them. Learning to socialize with a stranger after one introduction and come when called said to me that they were pretty smart birds. I will always remember those two ravens with fond affection.

 

[bgalb]

Edit: With hindsight, I realize that it was a mistake to socialize these birds with humans, but I was young. Even after leaving that airbase for a new assignment, I got reports from friends that the ravens were doing well and still lived around their neighborhood.

 

[mycopsycho]

The fact that they seem to be getting on fine after you left shows how adaptable they are. I read recently that they recognise individual human faces & will watch to see where your looking by following your line of sight. I do like to stop & stare at one, instantly causing them to behave nervously as you've broke with normal human behavior. Then watch them relax & dismiss you as a threat in a few seconds, great fun!