Crows "thank" a woman who fed them throughout the winter
Among the birds with the most intelligence are definitely crows and magpies. These creatures are able to amaze us with their demonstrations of affection (or resentment) towards human beings. Tango Steinke did not think she would receive any kind of gratitude from a pair of crows that she fed all winter, but she evidently did not know how intelligent this species of animal is. In her new home in Virginia, USA, Tango Steinke realized that she had some very noisy neighbors - but instead of despairing, she has decided to take care of them. These "neighbors" are two crows that have made their nest right next to her house. Since she fed other forest animals around her home, Steinke started leaving peanuts out for the crows as well. It didn't take long for them to thank Steinke in their own way.
The two crows were named by Steinke as 'Doc and Dottie': "They arrived at random times and I threw peanuts out for them. I was already feeding the other birds and squirrels, so feeding the crows too made sense," said Steinke. Visits from this pair of ravens increased with the arrival of winter, of course, and Steinke never ran out of food or failed to feed them. Initially, they only came to eat when the woman returned home, but after the first month, they began to get comfortable and they cawed, looking for more and more: "On weekends they would caw at my bedroom window until I got up to feed them," Steinke said.
And this is how the "gifts" from crows to the woman began. After helping them all winter, Doc and Dottie started bringing Steinke some coins and then a bunch of little things they had stolen from the local area: buttons, acorns, pieces of metal, a battered marble, ceramic scraps and sponges. Steinke then began sharing images of these incredible gifts on TikTok, and sought to also dispel the myth that crows bring bad luck. Steinke stated: "Crows, even if they leave me gifts, remain wild animals. They are intelligent and curious creatures that often have a bad reputation. But I'm happy if, thanks to my videos, some users will change their minds".
Usually, about once a month, the woman finds some surprise left for her by the crows at the place where she feeds them. Since the gifting began, she has shared videos of these moments on her TikTok account, demonstrating how, in a certain way, her family and her raven family have become "friendly neighbors". It seems that Doc and Dottie sometimes watch over her young children when they are outside playing. When they fall over when playing, for example, the crows caw to get her attention. "I don't know if they're just keeping an eye on them or if they don't trust me as a parent," she said wryly, "but they're never very far away when we leave the house."
What do you think? Do you have prejudices about crows?
