The Talking Crow

We get crows around here all the time, and a few ravens. But this one was different. It sat in the top of the dead elm and 'talked' on and off for half an hour!

Its 'talking' was a guttural chattering sound of a few notes, the most unusual thing I've heard from a bird in a long time. It reminded me for all the world of a tree frog and its barky cough. It really did make me think it was talking to another crow someplace hidden in the lower trees.

Of course a raven's hoarse 'gronk' is very different from a crow's 'caw', sounding much more gutteral too. I've seen crows attacking a raven sitting in a tree not far away, and the size difference surprised me - the raven was nearly twice as big as the crows. At first I thought it was a turkey vulture.

But I did enjoy hearing this crow chattering away for a while.