I missed out some vital info on 'Campus Corvids'; Carrion crows, jays, jackdaws, rooks and magpies.
Diet;
All are British corvids are omnivorous, many can become synathropic, benefiting from human activity arguable not true synanthropes like the housemouse. However, like urban pigeons if in urban areas many corvids can have a sizeable part of their diet from scavenging human waste or eating food deliberately left for other birds (RSPB 2020)
My Jackdaws (I don't own them, they just visit my garden) know when I get up I'll put food out, they can't get on the bird table as it has a stupid roof on it and they can't fit inside. But the jackdaws do know the blackbirds can fit inside and they know blackbirds are messy eaters, the jackdaws hoover up any morsels the blackbirds spill over the sides of the table onto the lawn.
They also eat any suet balls that break up and fall to ground and they muscle out the pigeons and gulls for any bread left over food I put out, chicken bones, veg, pizza crust, pretty much any leftovers they will take.
The only time the jackdaws ever bottle it, is when Lesser black-backed gulls larus fuscus turn up. It's rare, but my garden backs onto a school playing field and I don't know why but occassionally huge lesser black-backed gulls turn up in flocks of 30 or so on the football pitch.
The only time the jackdaws ever bottle it, is when Lesser black-backed gulls larus fuscus turn up. It's rare, but my garden backs onto a school playing field and I don't know why but occassionally huge lesser black-backed gulls turn up in flocks of 30 or so on the football pitch.
If they come in my garden my hardnut Jackdaws who are quite happy to jump and peck away regular sized gulls, will defer to these huge gulls, to anthropomorphise it for no good reason. It's like the jackdaws are happy take on all the locals yobs, but not the fat necked doormen on steroids.
It makes me laugh, they are very cocky with woodpigeons, and the woodpigeons look bigger than the jackdaws, the woodpigeons have a go, flap a bit, jump around, flap some more, but then retreat and bugger off after a very brief and pathetic stand.
The regular gulls black headed and common gulls are a bit more brave and sometimes win a pizza crust if they're quick. but once all 8 Jackdaws have landed, there are a few lame pecks from the gulls and they too retreat.
If just one lesser black-backed comes in, the jackdaws becomes very meek instantly and are off.
Road kill is pretty big for corvids, what's not to love about a decomposing flat rabbit, or hedgehog?
Harvesting other birds nests of their young is also a corvid trait, gobbling up a blackbirds squawbs is not a crime in the Corvid world, its a treat.
Insects too are great for covids, I don't know this to be true but I don't see as many crows beside roads as I used to, this may be that there are less insects getting bounced off windscreens onto the verge. Hoovering up dead bugs off the verge is less common, I still see crows scavenging road kill and discarded sandwiches, but far less pecking around for insects, possibly just because there are less insects around than 20 years ago?
This is all personal observations above. not backed up by papers, just a musing which I will check out later to see if I'm mistaken, which often, I am.
All our covids at UEA are resident, they do not migrate.
This is all personal observations above. not backed up by papers, just a musing which I will check out later to see if I'm mistaken, which often, I am.
All our covids at UEA are resident, they do not migrate.
RSPB (2020) Royal society for the protection of birds website. Available at: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/crow-family/ (Accessed: 22/03/2020)
