Bird watching is fascinating. This is something that has been happening in my sister’s house in Chennai. Every day a crow perches itself on her kitchen window. Not for his day’s share of cooked food or bird’s feed, but for his delicacy mixture (a common spicy snack). When others try to offer the bird’s feed, it doesn’t interest him. He demands only mixture. So, the mixture finds its rightful place in the weekly grocery list. “If you want to form a bond with a crow, be consistent in rewarding them,” says John Marzluff, a professor of Wildlife Science. It is not about buying their attention or love but about establishing a relationship with what we can offer.
To our surprise, this intelligent being reciprocates with gifts too. Gabi Mann is from Seattle, USA. As a small girl, she used to drop snacks while eating outside her home, and immediately the crows would alight and eat them. As she grew older, she started to reward their attention by sharing her lunch on the way to school. Gabi’s hospitality went from being accidental to purposeful because the family got together and started placing food and water in their backyard. Gabi is luckier because she gets gifts from her feathered allies in return. The gifts include shiny ornaments, rusty screws, a black button, a blue paper clip, a yellow bead and the like. For Gabi these things are more valuable than gold.
Fr Ricopar Royan SDB
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