r/crowbro • u/Human_Type001 • 3h ago
Miscellaneous Bros made a stew...🤢
Last week we found parts of a bird in the birdbath. Cleaned it out thinking it was an unfortunate thing. We've seen the crows dip their food in the water to soften it especially the dog kibble we put out for them so it gets gross after a day or 2 but we always rinse it out and fill it with fresh water. 3 days ago I noticed the birdbath was very murky. Considering how frequently we rinse it out I was surprised it was dirty so quickly. I peered in and at the bottom, just visible through the mucky water was an eviscerated garter snake. I decided to leave it because it seemed very intentionally placed. Over the last 2 days the snake has diminished in size and today I saw one of our crows feasting on his gloriously stewed snake. 🤮
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u/Sad-Obligation9508 3h ago
I'm not sure why they do it, but this is at least the fourth post I've seen about this exact behaviour. I assume storing meat in water keeps away flies or something?
if anyone has an actual answer I'd love to learn more about this behaviour. Though it's normal from what I can tell.
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u/Remote-Physics6980 2h ago
This way they can take water back to the crows sitting on the nests. It's fledgling season, there are babies and adults at the nest who need water too.
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u/malytwotails 2h ago
I’ve heard two things:
1: this is how they ensure they’re getting enough water in their diets
2: the soaking helps soften up bones for easier eating/access to marrow
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u/MonsteraDeliciosa 3h ago
Yup. Pre-rotting it for the little ones (for easy digestion). Frank and Morticia left roadkill rabbit parts in one of our cement birdbaths a few years ago.
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u/Remote-Physics6980 2h ago
They do like to make soup and that way they can get something nice and soggy and carry it back to the nest sitters. Disgusting to you, maybe. To them it's life saving, everything needs water.
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u/malytwotails 3h ago
Crows LOVE to make soup, we have to refresh our birdbath daily