The STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS BABEŞ-BOLYAI issue article summary

The summary of the selected article appears at the bottom of the page. In order to get back to the contents of the issue this article belongs to you have to access the link from the title. In order to see all the articles of the archive which have as author/co-author one of the authors mentioned below, you have to access the link from the author's name.

  
       
         
    STUDIA BIOLOGIA - Issue no. 2 / 2006  
         
  Article:   NOTEWORTHY FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF THE HOODED CROW (CORVUS CORONE CORNIX).

Authors:  VÁCLAV MIKEŠ, MICHAL ŠORF, TOMÁŠ PLOC. 		 
       
         
  Abstract:  On 27th and 28th September 2005, during our stay in Sfntu Gheorghe, Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Romania, we observed one individual of the Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix) interestingly feeding on walnuts (Juglans regia). The crow was flying upwards with the walnut in its bill, subsequently dropped it on the concrete pier and obviously repeated this scheme until the walnut was broken. We did not directly observe the successful breaking of the walnut, but we assumed it from some broken nutshells lying on the pier. A similar manipulation with food was observed by ebela (2002) near Sfntu Gheorghe, but crows were breaking mussels in contrast to walnuts. This method of breaking walnuts was recorded several times in Europe. The majority of papers dealing with this type of feeding behaviour comes from Germany (Bosch, 2001; Creutz, 1953; Deppe, 1992; Frstel, 1993; Giger, 1950) and one is from Poland (Lorek and Oleksik, 1992). This is probably the first record of such behaviour for this area. It seems this behaviour is widespread throughout Europe during autumn, when walnuts are available. Feeding on energy rich walnuts corns probably exceed energetic costs connected with breaking nutshells. Reichholf (2003) mentioned as few as five walnuts should be sufficient for covering daily energy demands of the crow.  
         
     
         
         
      Back to previous page