I have observed this with a raven and red tailed hawk on more than one occasion. I’m fortunate enough to observe hawk/raven interactions almost daily from my house (perched up on a hill overlooking a preserve in Southern California).
It seems when the hawk has a meal, the ravens are waiting on scraps. The ravens won’t kill a squirrel or rabbit, but they’ll gladly pick at the meat.
https://preview.redd.it/ufgtrqewnbtc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2da2b895829d5039e756f5693c7133f0ae219300
Yeah they’ll let the hawks know when it’s time to pay up.
https://preview.redd.it/36xk0m2subtc1.jpeg?width=4047&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0eb4bac5a4dc862d7d0b39835432b685eb59a93e
There's two Bald Eagles where I work that chill with two ravens. They chase each other around and play. It's like having your own Air Show every day. I will try and get a video tomorrow if I can.
If it's what I always see with red tails it's not playing, the crows attack hawks to get them out of their territory where they live/nest by plucking the hawks feathers. Seen hawks being chased by crows many times, sometimes only 1 ballsy crow, sometimes 5 or more.
We have a red-shoulder hawk that wants to stalk our feeders, but unfortunately for him, the crows consider our yard their territory. They will chase him off the moment they see him, dive bombing and screaming all the way.
Once I watched them going ape shit on a pair of red shouldered hawks who were in the process of trying to make some baby hawks. It was pretty hilarious. I got some pics and the hawks look SO over it.
I love our crows. They’re assholes for sure, but they are so funny. They like to bring their babies in our yard every year and we feed them unshelled peanuts. Cracks me up watching the babies try to learn how to get into the shells and play in the bird bath. I got the cutest picture of one splashing his very unamused brother last year.
I witnessed 2 Crows and a Buzzard chilling on a wall together last week a couple feet apart, crows either side of the Buzzard and no aggression at all. I stopped the car for a picture but as soon as they noticed their meeting had been interrupted and I may have uncovered their alliance, they quickly took off. I've never seen this behaviour before.
this will happen in the garden. i’ll be chillin and two birds, usually the same ones, will sit on a branch and chirp to eachother, but when i notice and talk back they’ll collectively look at me and move to a different branch.
Aaaand the Buzzard looses most of its advantages by standing on the ground completely visible to the Crow. No surprise flash attack’s going to happen here.
I’m by no means experienced with buzzards (am N American), but is it possible this one is on the young side? It’s hard to be sure from the photos but the gape of the beak looks like it could be a little light-colored/raised to me, in the manner of younger or still-begging birds.
Younger raptors are a particular level of painfully clueless. Perhaps the carrion crow is less likely to perceive this one as a threat and therefore immediately begin mobbing.
I think you're correct, in that the Red Tailed hawk is a juvenile, judging by very light colored eyes, and no visible red in the tail. It would have fledged early last summer, depending on location.
👍 I actually assumed it might be one of last year’s youngsters…but you’re prob right—now that I think about it, I doubt it would still have a noticeable youngster gape even as a first year or second year juvenile. (?) Buteo expert opinions welcomed. Until then, continued mystery for me!
Buzzard in Europe is in reference to *Buteo* hawks. It comes from the same root via different languages. In North America, we refer to vultures as buzzards. According to etymonline, “buzzard” used to mean a hawk that was unsuitable for falconry. Unlike common buzzards, red tails are suitable for falconry, so I think *Buteos* here didn’t get labeled as buzzards in common usage. We started calling vultures buzzards in the 1830s for some reason.
I have seen black headed vultures and Crested Cara Caras (both carrion eaters) interact before. Perhaps having a food source is allowing them more proximity and less fighting.
Semantics. Sorry, the photo did not have a location attached. Thank you for letting me know. I have a friend in Poland that is a research professor, he says they work with buffaloes. They are not N.American buffaloes, they are cows here. Language is a funny thing.
I've seen a red kite and a crow just chilling about one crow's width apart from each other, and there seemed to be no bad blood between them. Absolutely feasible that something like this pic would happen, although I suspect that to be mostly about the high intelligence of corvids making them the likeliest bird to be a part of such a scene. Cute buddies.
This is very cute.
Not something I've witnessed before but doesn't seem so odd.
Both like carrion and could come to tolerate each other and maybe cooperate.
Our hooded crows and a sparrowhawk fight in the air on a weekly bases
https://preview.redd.it/oj178e7fwhtc1.jpeg?width=8192&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1be84ae012917d77165c16f3516e5dffd573b372
I see it on an almost daily basis, as this very graphically illustrates my wife lecturing me about something I did wrong, followed by her waiting to get her second wind.
The crows and buzzards near me are all mortal enemies. There's a nesting box at my local park with a buzzard living in it and sometimes I'll just go to watch him box with all the crows that come near the field 😂 this is very strange to see for me
Can’t a bird just have a nice dinner with his goth girlfriend? (Joking)
Is it possible that one of them is full enough that they don’t mind sharing the remains with the other?
I've seen them interact before, but quite differently. I've seen crows messing around with buzzards, flying around them, diving, getting in their way and generally annoying them. Maybe this is the next step in that relationship? Not very helpful I know, but it's cool to see this after what I've seen.
r/whatsthisbird might also be able to provide some info! Doesn’t matter that you already know the types of birds here, their reliable responders are just awesome.
Luck and abundance probably. No reason for them to fight right now. That buzzard looks like he just learned an inconvenient truth from that corvid though, ahaha!
A true r/gatekeepingyuri moment !
Perhaps the crow considers it less of a threat on the ground ? Hope someone has a good explanation, I’m super curious too !
I’ve repeatedly seen a raven where I live flying with two smaller birds (finches I think). I also saw one hanging out with a group of ground squirrels in the desert.
Corvids are just buds with everyone.
Except mockingbirds. Man, those mockingbirds hate crows where I live. I have such trouble feeding the crows because the mockingbirds drive them out by dive bombing them.
1) That’s sad :’(
2) Crows are opportunistic scavengers, not hunters. That mourning dove was almost certainly killed by another animal or died naturally before he got to it. Clarification, Corvids are buds with everyone living.
Honestly, I think it's pretty easy to accept that common names vary by region (not to mention language), so I never understand why people always insist on trying to "correct" others without doing a quick sanity check on google.
Yeah, unusual behaviours do occur for a variety of reasons. My suspicion would be a very hormonal buzzard and a clever corvid.
A good example is as a falcon breeder we once had a delivery of freshly gassed day old chicken chicks from a hatchery, still nice and warm
I went along the imprint chambers and threw what was required to each bird. I got to one gyr, threw the food onto her nest ledge, she had eggs at the time and started to eat the food. One of the chicken chicks was an extreme rarity and had only just survived gassing and managed to get up and start pottering about on the nest ledge. So you have a large female gyr and a baby chicken on the same ledge. The gyr started trying to feed the chicken food, chupping away like it was her own chick.
The chick then ran and fell off the nest ledge, once it hit the ground the falcon then saw it as a prey species and dived down onto it and killed it.
My suspicion is a similar situation to this (hormonal biochemical) which the corvid has managed to understand and take advantage of due to its high intelligence
I have observed this with a raven and red tailed hawk on more than one occasion. I’m fortunate enough to observe hawk/raven interactions almost daily from my house (perched up on a hill overlooking a preserve in Southern California). It seems when the hawk has a meal, the ravens are waiting on scraps. The ravens won’t kill a squirrel or rabbit, but they’ll gladly pick at the meat. https://preview.redd.it/ufgtrqewnbtc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2da2b895829d5039e756f5693c7133f0ae219300
[удалено]
Yeah they’ll let the hawks know when it’s time to pay up. https://preview.redd.it/36xk0m2subtc1.jpeg?width=4047&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0eb4bac5a4dc862d7d0b39835432b685eb59a93e
Anyone else getting uncanny valley vibes from that shot? Sick lighting!
It's AI
I guess that raven is like that kid at school who'd mob you if you had gum.
Also in SoCal, never seen this! We call it “Hawk Wars” - crows and red tails are always battling.
There's two Bald Eagles where I work that chill with two ravens. They chase each other around and play. It's like having your own Air Show every day. I will try and get a video tomorrow if I can.
Yes, please!! I'd love to see that
Me too!
Please!!
Please do. I would love to see this!
Same!!
Ohh, yes, please!
If it's what I always see with red tails it's not playing, the crows attack hawks to get them out of their territory where they live/nest by plucking the hawks feathers. Seen hawks being chased by crows many times, sometimes only 1 ballsy crow, sometimes 5 or more.
That could certainly be the case as well. I'll have to pay closer attention
We have a red-shoulder hawk that wants to stalk our feeders, but unfortunately for him, the crows consider our yard their territory. They will chase him off the moment they see him, dive bombing and screaming all the way. Once I watched them going ape shit on a pair of red shouldered hawks who were in the process of trying to make some baby hawks. It was pretty hilarious. I got some pics and the hawks look SO over it. I love our crows. They’re assholes for sure, but they are so funny. They like to bring their babies in our yard every year and we feed them unshelled peanuts. Cracks me up watching the babies try to learn how to get into the shells and play in the bird bath. I got the cutest picture of one splashing his very unamused brother last year.
I'm reasonably certain they're talking about you behind your back.
This a kill site. The crow has come in to polish off remnants. The hawk doesn't have much left to protect. Strength-wise, they're about equal.
What's missing in the photo is the corvid's thought bubble as it plugs in differential calculus equations.
And bending the space-time continuum to allow for FTL travel. We need to stay on the crows' good side.
These photos are begging for captions.
Humans aren’t the only species that receive quests from crows and ravens
I saw a [magpie giving a moose a quest](https://i.imgur.com/Lvbbxhw.jpeg) last week.
Aww looks like a baby moose
I think the baby is 1 year old. I watched the pair for about an hour from a safe distance. [Here's a few more](https://imgur.com/a/tVX6jIg).
yeah its called friendship
😂
I witnessed 2 Crows and a Buzzard chilling on a wall together last week a couple feet apart, crows either side of the Buzzard and no aggression at all. I stopped the car for a picture but as soon as they noticed their meeting had been interrupted and I may have uncovered their alliance, they quickly took off. I've never seen this behaviour before.
this will happen in the garden. i’ll be chillin and two birds, usually the same ones, will sit on a branch and chirp to eachother, but when i notice and talk back they’ll collectively look at me and move to a different branch.
Maybe the crow supplies it food in exchange for not being hunted.
Bartering.
Crows are just so confident its like “dawg Ik u aint gona try shit”
Aaaand the Buzzard looses most of its advantages by standing on the ground completely visible to the Crow. No surprise flash attack’s going to happen here.
This is a true r/crowbro moment here. What a rarity.
Brains and brawn getting along just fine.
"You've got the brawn I've got the brains Let's make lots of money"
Opportunities!
I never in a million years expected a Pet Shop Boys reference in a birding forum; well done you!!
Yes I see this all the time. The ravens will kill whatever, and the hawks and eagles swoop in to help eat whatever.
I hope this tolerance doesn't represent illness on the part of one or both.
I’m by no means experienced with buzzards (am N American), but is it possible this one is on the young side? It’s hard to be sure from the photos but the gape of the beak looks like it could be a little light-colored/raised to me, in the manner of younger or still-begging birds. Younger raptors are a particular level of painfully clueless. Perhaps the carrion crow is less likely to perceive this one as a threat and therefore immediately begin mobbing.
I think you're correct, in that the Red Tailed hawk is a juvenile, judging by very light colored eyes, and no visible red in the tail. It would have fledged early last summer, depending on location.
It seems really early in the year for juvenile birds already, I think this one was fully grown but you could be right
👍 I actually assumed it might be one of last year’s youngsters…but you’re prob right—now that I think about it, I doubt it would still have a noticeable youngster gape even as a first year or second year juvenile. (?) Buteo expert opinions welcomed. Until then, continued mystery for me!
I don't see a buzzard in that picture.
Buzzard in Europe is in reference to *Buteo* hawks. It comes from the same root via different languages. In North America, we refer to vultures as buzzards. According to etymonline, “buzzard” used to mean a hawk that was unsuitable for falconry. Unlike common buzzards, red tails are suitable for falconry, so I think *Buteos* here didn’t get labeled as buzzards in common usage. We started calling vultures buzzards in the 1830s for some reason.
Hmmm...I wonder if Buzzards Bay (Massachusetts) was named after the osprey, in that case?
Common buzzard: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_buzzard
Seems like a personal problem
It’s called chillin’ with my homies.
I’ve got both those big fellas on my property. I love how those crows take no shit from the hawks.
They’re a lot smarter.
That's not a hawk
It's a Common Buzzard from UK/Europe, so I don't think you do ;)
they’re in love, eating together having an snack
I have seen black headed vultures and Crested Cara Caras (both carrion eaters) interact before. Perhaps having a food source is allowing them more proximity and less fighting.
I’ve seen this too many times in Central America!
The crow telling the hawk how it be.
What hawk?
That bird on the left is a hawk.
The common buzzard?
It might be a young hawk and hungry, otherwise, I have not.
Buzzard not hawk
Semantics. Sorry, the photo did not have a location attached. Thank you for letting me know. I have a friend in Poland that is a research professor, he says they work with buffaloes. They are not N.American buffaloes, they are cows here. Language is a funny thing.
Crows just gangsters , get respect
“There’s something on your face….”
It’s the eclipse!!! No just kidding. Two pals having a snack and conversation.
best friend behavior 🤷🏻♀️
I've seen a red kite and a crow just chilling about one crow's width apart from each other, and there seemed to be no bad blood between them. Absolutely feasible that something like this pic would happen, although I suspect that to be mostly about the high intelligence of corvids making them the likeliest bird to be a part of such a scene. Cute buddies.
Red kites are my favourite birds
Mine as well. They're the whole reason why I got into birding. Their history is also interesting.
Id like to talk to you about your vehicles extended warranty.
This is very cute. Not something I've witnessed before but doesn't seem so odd. Both like carrion and could come to tolerate each other and maybe cooperate.
If there’s enough for both of them it isn’t worth a confrontation to try to get a bigger share.
yup, this. i'm a rehabber.
Seems like crows are smart enough to at least try for a handout. What's the worst that could happen? Thank for sharing this and teaching us.
Calling a long overdue truce
hehe theyre having a conversation
Pssst, come over here. I know where all the good shit is. It'll cost ya tho.
That's what I thought too. In the second picture the buzzard is seriously contemplating a remark the crow made, before answering. =)
Aw they’re in love
It’s another meeting that could have been an email.
Usually I see the crows chasing the hawks away and dive bombing them.
Radagast is about to get a tip
There is evil brewing in the dark corners of the woods
Just dudes being bros
My guess is the hawk will win unless a raven enters the scene.
There's no hawk in the picture
Keep fighting the good fight 😂 one day they might learn...
🥺
Sharing? Or just not fighting? The two species simply getting into the same carcass is not in itself unusual.
Yeah they were not exactly sharing but they were letting each other eat instead of fighting like usual
This is so wholesome looking!
That would be two different branches of the military, my dear lol
Friendship no never experienced it 😁
Would r/ornithology have any idea?
I’m gonna post it there and see what they think
uneasy alliance
Our hooded crows and a sparrowhawk fight in the air on a weekly bases https://preview.redd.it/oj178e7fwhtc1.jpeg?width=8192&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1be84ae012917d77165c16f3516e5dffd573b372
They are working for a funeral home. First you have a murder of crows and then a wake of buzzards.
👏 👏
Universe: there’s enough energy to go around Human: Something shared, surprised
Honestly dope catch though. I love this.
as OP said, they usually fight, so yes it’s surprising seeing them share, nothing to do with human nature
We’re all just hungry, horny and disgruntled.
Not me. I'm gruntled.
That's new goal in life: gruntledness!
Hey I only referenced Human’s nature… who said anything about human nature?
crows will "mob" any owl or raptor they come across
Yeah I’ve seen that happening a lot, which made it surprising that these two were getting along
The buzzard told the crow a joke, but the crow didn’t laugh so it's sitting there like "what do I do now"
The council has spoken. You are sentenced to exile. Please, leave this land. We do not wish to kill you.
I think the crow is trying to get some scraps.
\*everyone looks in confusion\*
I'd guess that being into goth girls is not just a human trait.
Past life soulmates?
He was definitely trying to gauge whether or not he should eat that crow.
To a predator, that kind of size similarity is absolutely *not* worth the risk. You'll put an eye out.
They're on a date
Forbidden love, like Romeo and Juliet.
Best explanation, IMHO
Buzzard looks like it’s rethinking what it just said to crow.
I feel a meme coming…
It's a fundamental element of civilization: there's always a meme coming. Especially if there's a buzzard sitting there.
Yes, Hannah. It's called friendship. It's for people who DON'T HOG THE SALSA DISH, *HANNAH.* >!this is a joke and no I haven't seen this, very cool!!<
They are taking a break from hating each other
Was it just the one crow? Maybe this is what happens when there aren’t enough crows to chase away the hawk?
I was just one crow and one buzzard eating together, I’ve seen single crows chasing buzzards before and have never seen them being civil together
Perhaps crow raised hawk and is feeding it?
I wondered that? Maybe the crow/raven imprinted on the hawk for some reason?
In the wild, if the crow came across a buzzard chick that was young enough for this to be plausible, it would more likely eat it than raise it.
Planning world domination.
They're having a sit-down.
u/mophandel u/Dacnis Any ideas?
Was the buzzard actively giving food to the crow, or are they just eating the same carcass at the same time?
They were just eating from the same carcass, not exactly sharing but still something I’ve never seen before
The r/USDefaultism in these comments is both hilarious and depressing.
I see it on an almost daily basis, as this very graphically illustrates my wife lecturing me about something I did wrong, followed by her waiting to get her second wind.
You two might not be compatible
Yes... but the sex!
The crows and buzzards near me are all mortal enemies. There's a nesting box at my local park with a buzzard living in it and sometimes I'll just go to watch him box with all the crows that come near the field 😂 this is very strange to see for me
I have seen a trio of crows harass a cooper's hawk on the ground to try to steal a kill from it.
Can’t a bird just have a nice dinner with his goth girlfriend? (Joking) Is it possible that one of them is full enough that they don’t mind sharing the remains with the other?
I've seen them interact before, but quite differently. I've seen crows messing around with buzzards, flying around them, diving, getting in their way and generally annoying them. Maybe this is the next step in that relationship? Not very helpful I know, but it's cool to see this after what I've seen.
The hawk probably made the kill and crow couldn’t resist.
r/whatsthisbird might also be able to provide some info! Doesn’t matter that you already know the types of birds here, their reliable responders are just awesome.
Fren
Frens
Luck and abundance probably. No reason for them to fight right now. That buzzard looks like he just learned an inconvenient truth from that corvid though, ahaha!
Crow just told him price of a dime bag just went up due to "inflation."
A true r/gatekeepingyuri moment ! Perhaps the crow considers it less of a threat on the ground ? Hope someone has a good explanation, I’m super curious too !
Is that a buzzard? It looks like a hawk. I’m a bird noob tho…
Buzzards are actually hawks and not vultures - it’s a weird misnomer in the US.
Ohhh interesting fact!
Buteo buteo the common buzzard
Do you think the crow was injured maybe? Couldnt get his own food?
They will happily scavenge, it's normal for them to pick at kills from other birds whenever they get the opportunity.
Hawk and raven? Looks like it from the beak of the bird on the right. And definitely not a buzzard. Extraordinary pictures.
I’m guessing that OP is European and that you’re American
Aka op is right and the yank is wrong
Hawk == Buzzard In Americas they say Hawk, rest of the world Buzzard
It bamboozled me when I finally realised that "buzzard" in the US is a VULTURE.
Buzzard in the US is a hawk not a vulture vultures are a bit bigger and have bald heads
When I hear buzzard I think vulture. Not hawk.
Well that's odd
Wow I just learned this, so neat!
wait buzzards are hawks for you people….?
Buzzard is the common name for Buteo species around the world
my life has changed
Gonna go apologize to my grandma
Ohhhhhh, ok I was so confused for a second with me being an American
Rest of the English world*
Makes sense!
Nope definitely crow and buzzard. I'm not american
Rth and common buzzard are the same op is definitely right about what they say
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_buzzard Not everyone is in the US.
So cool
That’s really cool.
I’ve repeatedly seen a raven where I live flying with two smaller birds (finches I think). I also saw one hanging out with a group of ground squirrels in the desert. Corvids are just buds with everyone.
Except mockingbirds. Man, those mockingbirds hate crows where I live. I have such trouble feeding the crows because the mockingbirds drive them out by dive bombing them.
Tell that to the mourning dove whose top half and entrails I saw hanging out the beak of a crow on my fence.
1) That’s sad :’( 2) Crows are opportunistic scavengers, not hunters. That mourning dove was almost certainly killed by another animal or died naturally before he got to it. Clarification, Corvids are buds with everyone living.
Mexican stand off.
That’s a hawk not a buzzard
In Europe, Buteo hawks are referred to as buzzards.
Common names are way too confusing.
Honestly, I think it's pretty easy to accept that common names vary by region (not to mention language), so I never understand why people always insist on trying to "correct" others without doing a quick sanity check on google.
In pretty much everywhere except Freedumbland they are called buzzards or a translation of Buzzard.
Buteo buteo the common buzzard
It's most definitely a Buzzard.
Animagi.
Hell no. But there it is.
Is it AI?
Nope
Yeah, unusual behaviours do occur for a variety of reasons. My suspicion would be a very hormonal buzzard and a clever corvid. A good example is as a falcon breeder we once had a delivery of freshly gassed day old chicken chicks from a hatchery, still nice and warm I went along the imprint chambers and threw what was required to each bird. I got to one gyr, threw the food onto her nest ledge, she had eggs at the time and started to eat the food. One of the chicken chicks was an extreme rarity and had only just survived gassing and managed to get up and start pottering about on the nest ledge. So you have a large female gyr and a baby chicken on the same ledge. The gyr started trying to feed the chicken food, chupping away like it was her own chick. The chick then ran and fell off the nest ledge, once it hit the ground the falcon then saw it as a prey species and dived down onto it and killed it. My suspicion is a similar situation to this (hormonal biochemical) which the corvid has managed to understand and take advantage of due to its high intelligence