Inquisitive hooded crows, beautifully described in 'Encounters with corvids' by Fionn Ó Marcaigh, illustrated by Aga Grandowicz.

‘I made another discovery through my forensic analysis of the crime scene. Taking the two jagged ends of the rubber seal in my hands, I saw that they fit together perfectly. The little chips that had been pecked out of the length of rubber were scattered under the windowsill. No material was missing. The bird had not actually been eating the rubber, only destroying it. It was unlikely to have suffered any ill effects then and was probably perfectly happy with its day’s work.’

(…)

‘It seems that the most intelligent animals are the most likely to do things for “no good reason”. This feels counter-intuitive if we associate intelligence exclusively with logic. But we are the most intelligent animals of all, and how much of our own behaviour can we honestly say is logical? When you find a loose thread dangling off your clothing, it’s natural to want to pull on it, even though all this does is damage your clothes further.’

🪶Extract from 'Encounters with corvids' by Fionn Ó Marcaigh, illustrated by Aga Grandowicz.

📙 To learn more about rooks and other corvids present in Ireland, consider getting a copy of the book here.