[ExI] Corvids at play

lists1 at evil-genius.com lists1 at evil-genius.com
Wed Sep 15 22:59:36 UTC 2010


Gregory Jones <spike66 at att.net> said:
> So now my bold notion, and do feel free to refute for I am open to
> suggestion: that bird was playing.  I have seen seagulls at play,
> dropping and swooping to catch rocks.  I have seen ravens behave in
> such a way that looks a bit like play: doing the tough-guy posture to
> the big ugly two-legged beasts out at Waterfront Park in Sunnyvale.
> But this car-surfing thing (if that is what she was doing) appears to
> be an example of a corvus at play.  What think thee, beast watchers?

Absolutely.  I watched a raven play for some time in the air currents 
blowing upward at a scenic overlook overhanging a cliff.

It would hover just above the deck, caw three times, and then fall into 
a completely dead-stick, tumbling dive, just like it had been shot. 
Once it approached the bottom of the cliff it would unfurl its wings, 
pull out, and catch the strong wind, soaring back up to the observation 
deck with almost no effort.

The raven did this over and over, always cawing three times ("hey, check 
this out!"), tumbling like it was dead, and catching itself at the last 
moment.  I was jealous because it looked like a hell of a lot of fun.




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