We all know corvids are incredibly intelligent birds. Their resourcefulness, impressive memories, and problem-solving abilities have been well-researched (and are legendary). If you want a fun read about these marvelous avians, I highly recommend David Quammen’s short story, “Has Success Spoiled The Crow?“

My corvids appear to have a new skill, cooking. I came home the other afternoon to a fairly common scene, a crow perched on the side one of my bird baths. It seemed awfully preoccupied with something in the water, which warranted closer inspection on my part.

Floating on top of the water were two pigeon wings (courtesy of our neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk) while in the bottom of the sun-warmed water was a partially unwrapped pat of butter. Stir in a few spices and my crows were well on their way to a delicious pigeon soup!

It makes me happy to see crows (and all the other wildlife) spending time in my yard. I certainly enjoy watching them. I can’t wait to see what they cook up next!