The “Caw” of the Crow

The crows will often alert me to nesting activities by our tortoises. Caw, caw, caw. Hmmmmm. That crow is really close. I glanced up from the keyboard and scanned the bird feeders. No crow. Caw, caw, caw. Nearer yet. Then it dawned. The crow, inky black even when bathed in the brightness of the late morning sunlight, was sitting atop the railing that enclosed the tortoise pens. And as I had learned in previous years, when the crows come that close it is for a reason. And that reason is usually egg-deposition by one of our turtles or tortoises. Whether by body language displayed by the female chelonians on, or a day or two before, “deposition day,” by some chemical cues (how good are a crow’s olfactory senses?) or by other behavior patterns, I just don’t know. What I do know is that when the crows arrive I had better cancel and activities that would have me away from the pens until the laying actually occurs and the eggs are laid and gathered for incubation. What? You dig and gather the chelonian eggs? Indeed we do. If left in the hands of Mother Nature the crows are not only adept at knowing the ‘whens and wherefores” of the laying procedures but are sufficiently alert and dexterous to steal the eggs during laying or to actually excavate the chelonian’s nest one the procedure is complete. Caw, caw, caw, indeed! Thanks, crow, for the warning.

The nesting activities of this leopard tortoise were probably being observed and discussed by crows.

Box turtles are shallow nesters and if given an opportunity a crow may steal the eggs as they are laid.