crows stealing wool (1 Viewer)

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Apr 6, 2017

• #1

i observed a number of crows jumping onto sheep in a field near Beddgelert in Snowdonia and plucking some wool loose
as far as i could tell, they did not then fly off to feather their nest with it, but continued to take more wool for no apparent that i could discern

is it possible tat they are looking for ticks or other creatures hiding in the wool ? the sheep didn't seem too bothered, so it probably can't have hurt

 

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KC Foggin

Very, very long time member

Supporter

• Apr 6, 2017

• #2

My guess would be that it is for nest building?

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Apr 6, 2017

• #3

KC Foggin said:

My guess would be that it is for nest building?

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That was my first guess from the thread title, but Marnix says they didn't take it away. Perhaps they didn't like the colour, or cleanliness, or whatever?? Yes, perhaps looking for ticks too, though not much chance of their finding any, the tick season hasn't really started yet.

 

KC Foggin

Very, very long time member

Supporter

• Apr 6, 2017

• #4

I've seen crows work as a family collecting nesting materials. One day they pull the lint from the dryer (from cotton towels) clipped to my clothesline and drop it on the ground and then another or same crow will come by later and pick it up.

 

F

fugl

Well-known member

• Apr 7, 2017

• #5

Crows are intelligent critters with complex behavior. I see a couple of big flocks regularly at one of the local parks and I'm often at a loss to know what they're up to.

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Apr 7, 2017

• #6

KC Foggin said:

One day they pull the lint from the dryer clipped to my clothesline ...

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Hmmm . . . please, NEVER put out dryer lint for birds to use! It isn't suitable, as it wads down to a sticky mess when it gets damp, and can trap their legs and cause a host of other problems with chemical contaminants.

Dog or cat hair combings are much better (as long as they're not from very long-haired breeds).

 

Kits

Picture Picker

Social Media Editor

• Apr 7, 2017

• #7

Good advice about the rubbish from driers.

Can human hair be put out too, Nutcracker?

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Apr 7, 2017

• #8

Kits said:

Can human hair be put out too, Nutcracker?

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Yes, but clip it into fairly short lengths, 5 cm or less, as long hair (and ditto long wool) can tangle round the nestlings' legs :t:

 

Kits

Picture Picker

Social Media Editor

• Apr 7, 2017

• #9

Thanks, Nutcracker. Will do. :t:

 

M

MacNara

Well-known member

• Apr 14, 2017

• #10

I live next to a famous and historic deer park in Nara Japan. Here at nesting time (late March, early April) the crows steal hair from the deer. They only seem to go for the white bum fluff - and the deer are shedding their winter coats, so it doesn't bother them that much and maybe even helps them.

 

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marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Apr 14, 2017

• #11

MacNara said:

They only seem to go for the white bum fluff - and the deer are shedding their winter coats, so it doesn't bother them that much and maybe even helps them.

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do they use it for their nests ? or is there another reason they're picking the fluff ?

 

M

MacNara

Well-known member

• Apr 15, 2017

• #12

marnixR said:

do they use it for their nests ? or is there another reason they're picking the fluff ?

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I assume so; it's the nesting season (they nest early); what else would they do with it?

 

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Apr 15, 2017

• #13

that's what I was wondering in the OP - they didn't seem to take the wool away after they plucked it off the sheep

 

M

MacNara

Well-known member

• Apr 15, 2017

• #14

marnixR said:

that's what I was wondering in the OP - they didn't seem to take the wool away after they plucked it off the sheep

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Well, I did notice that they seemed to want to collect quite a lot - that is, they didn't grab a bit with one peck and fly off, but made repeated pecks to gather a substantial quantity. Maybe they know that the stuff isn't going to go away once removed (either from sheep or deer), so perhaps they concentrate on separating the hair from the animal in as large a quantity as possible in a small location (natural moulting would presumably leave the hair more widely dispersed) and then come back later to collect the stuff for the nests after the animals have moved off.

I don't think a few ticks on the animals would be worth the effort for a bird as big as a crow.

 

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Apr 15, 2017

• #15

no, you're probably right - if it was for the ticks, there would not even be any need to pluck out the wool + they would probably act like oxpeckers and stay on the sheep until they had their fill

chances are that i didn't stay around long enough to see them carry off the wool, or otherwise i was unobservant and didn't see them carry it off

 

M

MacNara

Well-known member

• Apr 15, 2017

• #16

It's an interesting point. It would be interesting if some professional birder reasearched it.

A few years ago, a pair of Japanese White-eyes nested in in our (tiny) garden. We read a book that said they use spider webs to line the inside of the nest and make it cosy and waterproof - and there are plenty of old spider webs around here they could use.

When we checked the nest when they had finished, we at first thought that the spider web theory was true. But when we looked more closely, all the inner lining which was grey and shiny in a spider-web-like way was in fact plastic strips from those woven plastic sacks (i.e. the plastic is already in 2 or 3 millimetre wide strips) that they use (here in Japan at least) to hold sand or salt for roadworks purposes.