Come and see some exhilarating crow action in motion.
I was out near the mountains, and a pied crow landed for a photo shoot. Now I know that some have said to me that is not what their crows look like in Europe and elsewhere. The reason is that this is one of the crows that appear in the southern hemisphere, and in our case, South Africa.
The pied crow (Corvus albus) is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus of the family Corvidae. This species, Africa's most widespread member of the genus Corvus, occurs from sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, South Africa and on the large island of Madagascar, the Comoros Islands, Aldabra, Assumption Island, Cosmoledo, Astove Island, Zanzibar, Pemba, and Fernando Po. It inhabits mainly open country with villages and towns nearby. It does not occur in the equatorial rainforest region. It is rarely seen very far from human habitation, though it is not as tied to the urban way of life as the house crow (Corvus splendens) of Asia and may be encountered far from human habitation in Eritrea.
Keep your eye on the tops of the trees.
I was trying to show the parts of the mountain peaks that were visible through the cloud cover, until the crow arrived. Look at the top of the first tree at the left of the picture.
Fluffing feathers meant it was going to move, but I was ready with my camera.
What did I tell you, as it moved.
I don't know what it was looking for.
Ahoy, it became airborne.
Flying straight in my direction, as I was about two hundred meters away from it.
And then up and away it went.
I love it whenever something unexpected suddenly appears in nature to feed my camera, as I appreciate it as a gift. It happens quite often to me, and for that I am very grateful. The danger is that one can expect these things on every outing, and if that is the case then we will often go home disappointed. But when it happens, then one's hopes are lifted again. I have gotten used to it over time, and one just has to stay alert at all times. I think that this crow saw me, and he is a cheapskate as he wanted a free photo shoot:))
We have so much going on in nature here, as the place is a photographer's paradise. Thankfully, many people have kept green spaces in their private gardens and in local parks and reserves, so many eco systems are protected and animals have some safe places to nest and feed. Not all has been lost to agriculture and development thus far, but we have seen some unsettling new residential developments jumping up. This is concerning, as not only will the roads be crowded but the nature will also be endangered.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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