Crow notorious in the bird world
My local carrion crows have been active in treetops around the area; firstly in the garden oak tree and then in the local wood.
The first thing you hear is the loud calling of ‘prukkprukk, pronk-pronk’ and then you simply look for a very large, black crow.
If you see a raven then generally you know on account of the call, the massive size, heavy and vicious bill, and the long diamond-shaped tail.
They are big birds and on a similar size scale to a buzzard. If you only ‘think’ you have seen a raven then it is most likely the smaller cousin, the carrion crow.
These more readily come to gardens and themselves are big birds – both scavengers and predators. The picture gives a fair idea of the nature of the crow as a notorious villain of the bird world!
The crow family tend to roost communally in winter and just before Christmas I witnessed around thirty birds in a group of trees along the River Don.
Prof Rotherham, a researcher, writer and broadcaster on wildlife and environmental issues, is contactable on ianonthewildside@ukeconet. org