There’s a pair of redtail hawks that I see near my office somewhat frequently. More than a few times, I’ve seen them get into what looks like a territorial fight of sorts with some crows. Basically the crows make a lot of noise, fly near one of the hawks, then they both break off from each other for a bit, then repeat until one of the hawks flies out of sight.
I’m guessing they’re either fighting over territory or the crows are trying to chase the hawks away so they can scavenge their prey. Do the crows actually prove any real physical threat to the larger hawks? Do the crows have any advantage other than numbers?
In: Biology
Bonus crow facts: they have regional dialects, hold grudges for multiple generations AND can use tools
Oh! I know this one!
So hawks don’t just eat rabbits – they also eat smaller birds, including finches and the occasional crow.
The smaller birds can’t kill the hawks, but they can annoy the bejeezus out of them and pluck a couple feathers. Birds like crows are like the cool uncle of the bird world and talk to each other AND other animals, which is frickin crazy. If there’s a hawk in the area, everyone is stressed TF out and so the other birds will chase it away to defend nests or just themselves.
TL;DR sometimes birds work together to bully hawks so they don’t get eaten
Where is Unidan when you need him?!?
This behavior is known as “mobbing” and occurs among many birds, as well as sometimes among fish and even mammals. There are several reasons for it at various times and places, but just generally speaking mobbing usually happens when adult animals that are alert to a predator are not threatened by it, but their offspring may be threatened or they may be in danger if surprised. So with hawks and crows, a hawk isn’t a big threat to a crow who knows it there, but young crows are definitely at risk. By ganging up on a hawk and attempting to drive it out of their area, crows can reduce risk to their own offspring at acceptable levels of risk to themselves. They also alert the hawk to the fact that they know it’s there and they won’t be caught by surprise, thus reducing risk it will attack them.
One thing that’s kind of funny is that while crows will mob hawks, sometimes smaller birds will mob crows for similar reasons.
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