Wow, I loved that! I was very close to getting a crow for a pet before I got my monkey as a boy. They have that intelligence like parrots with a dash of mischievous playfulness. If parrot's intelligence is dog or cat like, I think of the raven/crow family of birds as otter, ferret intelligence. A comic playfulness that gives them some extra charm as well as challenge to live with.
I'm guessing this was a natural behavior that he discovered. In bird training most of it is reinforcing something they discover on their own anyway. They are more than capable of figuring this out and enjoying it. And that crow was all joy! Fantastic. Here are some quotes about their intelligence I grabbed when I searched the difference between Ravens (larger) and Crows. I still may have to own one of these birds someday. I spent sometime at a small petting zoo scratching ones head like a tiny feathered dog. It was definitely soliciting human attention and contact and his eyes were piercingly intelligent and playful. Following quotes are from here along with more info: http://www.angelfire.com/id/ravensknowledge/ravensvscrows.html When I speak of ravens or crows to people, often they want to know what difference exists between the two. Usually, they know of a size difference, but want to know how else to differentiate the two. Therfore below, are listed some of the defining physical differences, social/behavioral deffences, as well as some expert thoughts and perceptions on the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and common raven (Corvus corax). "To get at the mind of a crow is a great challenge, but to get in the mind of a raven, as I found in living with one for a year, is an even greater one. Ravens are, to enthusiasts like myself, at the top of the avian pyramid in mental attributes." -L. Kilham from "The American Crow and Common Raven" "Given the tendency of corvids to be large, intelligent, adaptable, ground-foraging birds independent of trees, it is probably only a slight exaggeration to say that the raven (C. corax) is the ultimate Corvid. If so, it is also at the top of the most species-rich and rapidly evolving line of the birds. Is is the ne plus ultra of up-and-comming birds." -Bernd Heinriech from "Ravens in Winter" --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@...> wrote: > > Amazing video of a crow repeatedly sliding down the > slope of a snowy roof standing on what looks like a > drink coaster. When the slide ends, the crow picks up > the coaster and flies back up to the ridge of the roof, > positions the coaster in another snowy spot on the > roof, and takes another slide. > > You can see on the roof the tracks of a bunch of > previous slides, so obviously the crow had been > enjoying itself this way for some time before the video > was shot. > > I suppose it's possible it was a trained crow doing a > trick while its master shot the video...but that sure > isn't what it looks like. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2rJoIhgWmw >
