My hands shook and the blood thumped in my ears. I nearly dropped the phone as I scrambled to pull it from my pocket and get the video rolling on this thrilling new level of trust I had reached with my two friends, Bo and Lorena.
If only I had captured the foreplay. It truly was a magnificent display. Lorena started it all.
While ‘tis the season for making whoopee, whoopee-making is a vulnerable activity for anyone on the food chain. But perhaps it was my looming and formidable presence and the crow couple's trust in me that I would frighten away any potential predators that led them to do it right there in the road not ten feet from where I stood with my little dog.
The two have been busy with nest-building, and it had been a few days since I’d seen them. When I entered their territory I expected the usual greeting: Bo landing on my head or hand to be fed; Lorena landing at my feet and waiting for me to toss treats into her shiny black bill. But when I arrived, rather than come over for snacks, Bo chose to poke around across the street through a small mess of garbage. He was inspecting a piece of plastic when Lorena, about ten feet away on the ground in front of me, bowed her head and let loose a long, rattling call.
Not yet understanding the myriad nuances within each crow call, I was surprised by the immediate affect it had on Bo. He pressed his breast low to the ground and stuck his feathered ass into the air. Still holding the piece of plastic in his bill, he began to vigorously vibrate his tail feathers. His wife must have made a come-hither call, though, alas, I can’t remember what it sounded like. All I know is it got Bo moving, and in big, cocky strides he crossed the street toward his bride, flinging his plastic prize to the side to claim the real deal.
And the rest is internet history:
SOUND ON FOR EMBARRASSINGLY SEXY CROW SOUNDS
All pictures and words copyright Anna Horvitz (me) and cannot be used without my consent.
