I watched a bunch of crows surrounding a swan. Whenever the swan went after one of them, another crow would pick the swan in the butt. Swan would turn around and another crow would pick at the swan from behind. This went on for a few minutes and then the crowd left. My only explanation was that they enjoyed messing with the swan for fun.
I watched a similar scene, but with magpies escorting the local cat out of the park. One magpie walking right behind the cat, pecking at the tail, and some others running interference in front of it. The cat made no attempt to catch the birds and instead tried to keep up the pretense of leaving on his own accord.
Swans are mean! They likely see the swan as vulnerable(can’t fly) but also strong(they hiss and have powerful neck muscles and honestly..it’s scary to be near a swan upclose..they have Darth Vader breath).
Crows really like to challenge those that are bigger and stronger than they are..swans, raptors(altho they likely go after raptors because as scavengers, they pick up the leftovers of raptor’s kill/food).
They like to protect smaller birds and those that are vulnerable. They likely see cats as predators even though cats hunt smaller birds.
Agreed! When I was a kid we used to go swimming at a lake and there was a one-legged swan that terrorized the whole lake every summer. The other swans were bad too but this one was especially mean.
For many birds, including crows, take off is almost instant. Flap wings, lift exceeds gravity, up you go. Swans don't do that, I presume because they can't. They need a considerable run-up - call it 50 metres on land. If harried it may be impossible for the swan to fly away.
