They used to do this with my stupid fucking cat. Half the reason I let my wife get the thing was that I thought it would keep the magpies and crows away and I could actually get decent sleeps in spring and summer but no, this dumb asshole cat decided to be friends with them and lay on his back with them while they screamed.
Just keep in mind, you’re the one intruding on their environment. Don’t use a cat to kill the native birds. We’ve had many extinct species from us letting our cats out into the environment.
Vroom vroom
It seems so hit or miss in kitty instincts. They’re either small tigers or clueless furballs.
Pretty sure it’s our fault half of them have no instincts
I happened to get one of each, ironically it’s the smaller of the two who is the hunter.
Mine hated magpies. First time we took him to my mothers house I heard some miaus smd found him on a rock in the middle of a little brook next to the house being mobbed by three magpies. And I had to rescue him. A little while later I saw the setup. One magpie was limping along being tracked by the cat. The second the cat jumped in the rock the other two immediately started mobbing him and the “wounded” would join in.
After that magpies were an arch enemy. A few years later I sat on my own porch, and this magpie was hopping around for probably 20-30 minutes when suddenly my fur missile came out if a bush next to the porch. He had bided his time and actually got both his paws all around the magpie who started pecking his head. Think he was as surprised as the magpie as he actually let it go. (To my relief as I think he would have lost an eye)
I saw that the magpies had learned and was more wary when they spotted him.
idk what it is about calling cats dumb assholes, but it rarely fails to crack me up
Do you have any pictures of this cat laying with the birds? For science?
I used to have a video but that was forever ago.
if the cat gets hungry enough it’ll start to broaden its perspective on what can be food.
broaden it enough and it’ll include you, even.
Aw look, roommates!
They were just very good friends.
Rookmates
Also Australian magpies aren’t actually corvids, that are related to crows, magpies and ravens. They belong in a different bird family altogether.
thanks, Lemmidan
That’s so damn cool to see! I thought I was fucking crazy!
Years and years ago, I made friends with some crows. So they’d hang around our yard a lot, kind of like their home base. I’d see that kind of thing, and wonder wtf was going on, but any time I’d tell somebody, it was like I was trying to prank them or something (I mean, not without reason, I am known for telling tall tales that turn into absurdity. I always fess up at the end, but it does mean I get the side eye a lot).
But nobody I ever told about it had ever seen it.
I’ve even seen jays do it a couple of times.
Cats with feathers
r/likeus
Crows are cool and all! Before you humanize them too much, remember they predate upon other birds’ chicks, etc.
Oh we humans would never eat another animal
Or their periods and/or babies
Your sarcasm has no power here :p
But what can be more human than being a predator and a terrible being as well?
Hmm. I think it’s the human capability to care about others that you’re not related to which has led to our domination over other species.
Or that others can be useful, even if you don’t care about them.
Humans are famous for not being omnivores, of course. You think history isn’t full of brutal hunting by humans who didnt know or care about anything better?
To be fair, pretty much any bird that isn’t exclusively an herbivore will do that if the opportunity arises. Birds be vicious little predators fo sho.
Hell, there’s a cardinal that hangs around our house, and I’ve seen him eating a dead bird before. Well, picking pieces of it off, then flying into the shrubbery, then coming back in a few seconds. I assume he was eating it, since they nest in a different section of the yard. So I wouldn’t even be surprised if pretty much any bird would go after unprotected chicks if the chance arises.
And all of them will eat eggs, afaik, if they can crack them, our they find one cracked already.
It’s a common joke to refer to their dinosaur ancestry, but even those cute like songbirds have a savage side, just like their more intimidating kin.
I’m pretty sure that if you see birds carrying food, they’re usually bringing some to their babies! Otherwise it’s safer to eat it there.
Predate? You mean prey?
I’ve always used predate in this context because prey as a verb tends to get confused with prey species.
I agree prey is just a bad verb, to “prey” should mean to sneak around in people’s yards munching on plants and sketching out whenever anybody else gets close.
remember they predate upon other birds’ chicks, etc.
Wait 'til you see what humans do!
Call me when crows invent factory farming lol
Paper referenced (I think): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-020-01466-0
I see you there, being a badass and directly linking to scientific papers in the comments.
Co-lying is mentioned, but it isn’t the subject of the paper linked.
