Mary, Tweets:

When I lived in the east Greenlake area, I had a color-banded crow (one of
John Marzluff's bandees) in my neighborhood; I saw her every single weekend,
if I was home, for over a year. I sexed her as female because she was as
small as or smaller than any other crows I saw her with. Several times, I
saw her with a larger crow that was preening the back of her head and neck.
I assumed because of the size difference that the larger crow was a male. I
think it is fairly common behavior, because I've noticed it quite a few
times since then.
I don't know if this behavior is *just* something between a pair or if it is
something crows in more "casual" relationships also do, but I certainly saw
it a few times this spring in Ballard, where I live now - including by the
pair that nested in the Doug-fir in my back yard.

Ruth Taylor
Seattle/Ballard
rutht at seanet.com

-----Original Message-----
From: MaryK <bassclef at seanet.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Saturday, November 30, 2002 1:48 PM
Subject: Crow Behavior


>A little while ago I happened to glance out my window and spied two
>crows on a nearby telephone line. One was preening the other on the top
>of the head. The preenee sat still and tolerated it. Eventually the
>preener stopped and sidled away a bit, whereupon the preenee looked at
>it, and then the preener sidled back and did some more preening. I'm
>not sure how long this had gone on before I noticed it, but it must've
>lasted at least a minute while I was watching. Eventually the preener
>flew down off the wire, the preen-ee following. Interesting. Had never
>seen crows do this before.
>
>Mary E. Klein
>Seattle WA
>bassclef at seanet.com
>
>
>