A Curious Incident Observed From the Rookery
"No credible explanation had ever been put forward for this bizarre ritual - its brevity, its intensity and its regularity"
There is a delightful website called Sounds of the Forest where you can listen to recordings from various woodlands around the world. The piece below was inspired by a sound clip from NewboroughForest, Isle of Angelsey, Wales. It is difficult to listen to this delightful recording of a group of corvids (aka jackdaws and rooks) without wondering what they might be talking about. It might even be us…..
The long discussions in the summer twilight, when good-natured argument and gossip rang from one large, untidy nest to the next through the trees, were the highlight of the day for the colony. of jackdaws and rooks. Their vocabulary was large and sophisticated and their conversation ranged over many topics, but none aroused more debate than the invasion that occurred shortly after dawn on every seventh day.
It was clear to the corvids that the species involved were linked by a symbiotic relationship; such pairings were common enough in the natural world but this one was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Only Old Crow could remember a time before it was a regular occurrence in the wood, and he claimed that even before that time the two species had been seen together in the area, though in smaller numbers. The larger species, with its striking metallic sheen, gathered on a large flat plain just beyond the edge of the wood, whereupon flaps opened in the creatures’ sides and the smaller species, apparently unharmed, were vomited from their bodies.
Did they perform some kind of grooming function for their metallic hosts? Clearly the hosts did not feed on them, for what species would return willingly, with animated shouts and cheers, to the very creatures that made a meal of them?
The gathering appeared to have some ceremonial function. Emptied of their companions, the large quadrupeds waited in patient silence (apart from an occasional plaintive regular whine from a distressed individual) while their bipedal neighbours bounded free of them for a short and intense migration.
Several things about this procedure puzzled the Corvids. First, it was regularly and willingly engaged in by both parties. The grunts and groans, and the bright plumage adopted, with a lustrous sheen mimicking the coats of the Large Ones, suggested a mating ritual. But despite repeated attempts, no credible instance of sexual activity had ever been recorded by the birds. The intense hormonal odour emitted from the bipeds after vigorous exercise hinted that some kind of intimacy was going on, but it also made gathering observational data rather an unpleasant process.
The bipeds enjoyed a period of feasting before returning, willingly by all appearances, to the bellies of their hosts. No rook or crow in the colony had ever flown far enough to find out where the creatures came from, though it had been established beyond doubt that, once occupied, the quadrupeds were able to travel vast distances at an even greater speed than their companions. Perhaps, one of the younger jackdaws speculated, the Small Ones generated a communal energy source that powered their host’s rapid movements; that would explain the Large Ones’ willingness to sacrifice their symbiotes for a short period every few days and wait for their return. But this was considered a little far-fetched.
It was a constant frustration to the corvids, self-proclaimed as the most intelligent of all avian creatures, that no credible explanation had ever been put forward for this bizarre ritual - its brevity, its intensity and its regularity. It remained a mystery to them. It was almost as if the Small Ones relished the novelty of relying on their own limbs rather than the bodies of their hosts, as was their general custom. Certainly, their speed was remarkable for a species not blessed by the power of flight. They made a terrific noise, but it didn’t last long, it was undoubtedly entertaining, and the Corvids could hardly complain about the disturbance, since they were an equally noisy and sociable species in their own right.