One of my neighbors keeps a duck in his yard that I hear when taking a walk. This rooftop crow was making a particular call nearby in alteration with the duck (barely audible in this video). I've not heard these short frequent caws from a crow before, so it definitely seems like he's intentionally imitating the duck.
Duck Call
https://i.imgur.com/IhxBja9.mp4
2 Comments
Zannsolo@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
Pretty normal crow noises, I have a bunch near my house and I hear calls like that all the time. My 1 1/2 yo kid thinks all birds say caw caw.
Mechanismatic@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 1y
Most of the calls in my neighborhood tend to be shorter bursts—territorial or assembly calls. The greater frequency calls tend to be reserved for when a hawk or owl is around and needs to be mobbed once backup arrives. The fact that the similar sounding duck quacking is interspersed seems to indicate imitation to me.