A new study shows that although
crows are smaller than ravens, they are almost always the aggressors when the
two species interact.
BY ANNIE ROTH
PUBLISHED JULY 4, 2018
LIVING ALONGSIDE A group of
crows can be murder for a raven.
Across North America, common
ravens are regularly harassed by gangs of crows,
according to a new study published Wednesday in The Auk: Ornithological
Advances. In 97 percent of reported interactions between crows and ravens,
scientists report, crows were the aggressors.
This grudge match goes way back.
In North America, ravens are both competitors and predators of the crow. Given
the chance, brazen, jet-black ravens will happily make a meal out of a crow’s
clutch of eggs. And one on one, a crow doesn’t stand a chance against a raven,
which can reach up to three times a crow’s size and weight. (Read
more about how ravens hold grudges against humans.)
But what crows lack in size, they
make up for in numbers. Ganging up “gives crows the upper hand,” says Ben Freeman, postdoctoral fellow at
University of British Columbia and lead author of the study.
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