04/28/2025
How to befriend a crow
To befriend a crow, one must approach the endeavor with patience and a gentle hand. Nothing can be rushed, as it is entirely up to the crow to decide the pace and depth of the relationship.
Crows are remarkably observant creatures and are known to cache their food supplies. They will watch their fellow crows conceal food, only to retrieve it when the opportune moment arises. Crows also understand when they themselves are being observed, and thus, they will only hide food when they believe they are unobserved. In fact, they may even feign the act of hiding food if they sense they are being watched by another crow. Therefore, if a crow is nearby and you place a suitable treat in view, you can be certain that the crow will notice. Yet, the crow will only retrieve it once it feels safely unobserved by people. Crows, moreover, are exceptionally skilled at detecting the direction of human gaze, even from considerable distances.
To initiate the process, one should start by placing some unshelled peanuts within sight of the crow, then withdraw. If this is done routinely, perhaps daily at a set time, the crow will soon take note. The true challenge is to convey to the crow that it is not merely pilfering human provisions but rather receiving a gift. To achieve this, I made direct eye contact with Edgar—who often perched at a safe distance in a tree—as I placed the food. Afterward, I would point at the peanut with an extended arm, meeting Edgar’s gaze before retreating indoors, leaving him undisturbed to retrieve his treat at his leisure.
It took many weeks, even a few months, before Edgar felt bold enough to claim his treat while I watched from a distance. This must have been the moment he realized that I intended the food as a gift. From that point onward, Edgar’s trust grew, albeit gradually. The distance I had to keep to avoid startling him lessened steadily. Eventually, he would alight on the lawn as soon as I appeared with a treat in hand. In tim