The Science Behind Caramel Crows

This fascinating blog post by Kaeli Swift gives some detailed insight into the topic of what controls feather pigmentation in birds, and in particular corvids.

Shared with the kind permission of Kaeli Swift of Corvid Research.

 

Generally, when I receive emails with the subject line “interesting crow” it’s because the author noted some peculiar or amusing crow behavior they want to share, or because they spotted an unusual looking crow due to AKD, leucism or avian pox. Rarely, it’s for none of these reasons and is truly a horse of a different color. Or in this case, crow.[…]

via The science behind caramel crows — Corvid Research

 

House Martins Narziss And Goldmund

Narziss and Goldmund
Editor’s note: This blog post has been updated on 12/04/2018.

Admission – 30/07/2017

Narziss and Goldmund are two premature house martin fledglings, who have been found on the ground being unable to fly. Their nest allegedly came down for unknown reasons. According to the finder, Narziss has been spotted in the morning being on the ground and unable to fly, but has been left there for reasons unknown. Only as Goldmund has been spotted in the afternoon, also being found on the ground, both birds have been collected by the finder and brought to us. The admission assessment did not reveal any external injuries. However, both house martins demonstrated very obvious signs of dehydration, starvation and exhaustion.

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Wild Animal Suffering

Editor's note: An updated and republished version of this blog post is available by following the link below.

Wild Animal Suffering (Republished)

Many people have a naive and rosy view regarding the kind of lives animals are living in the wild. Some of those people strongly believe, and this includes even sometimes wildlife rescuers and rehabbers, conservationists and people, who think of themselves as nature or animal lovers, that non-human animals living in the wild live in some kind of paradise. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Animals living in the wild live lives that are far from idyllic, and most of them have to deal with the reality of constant threat of tremendous suffering. Although many people accept the fact that animals experience suffering, the willingness to help, to minimise or eliminate suffering, remains rather an exceptional act of kindness. Also, for reasons remaining mostly unclear, many people assume that wild animals do cope better with suffering than domestic animals or our beloved pets. However, there is no reason or scientific foundation for this assumption. 1

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Another Post About The Diet Of Corvids

One of topics commonly discussed in corvid fora and question frequently asked is what to feed crows, usually referring to birds in the wild, but also to birds cared for in captivity or during rehabilitation. One of the most frequent answers given is that the name carrion crow is a giveaway, and that crows would eat, who would have guessed, almost exclusively any type of carrion.

However, when looking through findings of scientific studies about feeding habits of corvids, confirmed and enriched by individual experiences of corvid rescues and rehabbers, it becomes evident that this answer is not exactly true and would in fact suggest an unhealthy and unbalanced diet.

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Rook Aeneas – An Obituary

Rook Aeneas

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the loss of our rook Aeneas.

Aeneas was an adult rook, who came to us in August 2017. At admission we found a severely bleeding compound fracture of his right wing caused by a gun shot injury, which we treated conservatively. Aeneas did also show neurological signs consistent with a concussion featuring a weakness of his right wing and leg. These injuries were likely to be caused by being shot mid air and a subsequent severe impact trauma.

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