The first is a pretty common sight. On two occasions I’ve observed crows repeatedly swooping up and throwing a nut to the ground.

In Vancouver’s Confederation Park, I sat by a little puddle. Presently, a crow flew in with what appeared to be a large hunk of dry bread in its beak. It proceeded to throw the bread into the puddle. Then it pecked at it until it broke up. Then it ate the pieces. To me it was evident that it had deliberately put the bread and water together to prepare its cuisine.

In Port Coquitlam, around 1997, a hawk flew over my head, closely pursued by two crows. I thought that was pretty funny in itself, but a few minutes later I saw (what had to be) the same two crows flying back, one of them with a beakfull of grey feathers.

I wonder what that crow meant to do with those feathers (surely it could have spat them out). Maybe it meant to decorate its den.

In Renton, WA, around 2000, my friend Corey and I saw a bald eagle being pursued by about a hundred crows. Probably the crows couldn’t do much physical harm to the eagle, but it certainly wasn’t doing any hunting.