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Birds with young regularly clean their nest by removing droppings and usually deposit the results some distance away, presumably to avoid making the nest site too obvious to predators. Nestlings o...
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#3: Post edited
by
Pastychomper
·
2020-07-30T11:26:34Z (over 4 years ago)
Clarified that crows have faecal sacs.
Birds with young regularly clean their nest by removing droppings and usually deposit the results some distance away, presumably to avoid making the nest site too obvious to predators. Nestlings of some birds deposit their excrement inside [faecal sacs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_sac) to facilitate this cleaning. If you were in the northern hemisphere then it's very likely the crow did have young and was cleaning up.- I don't know why the crow chose a pond to drop them in, but it would be a good way to hide the detritus - crows are noted for their intelligence but not, as far as I know, for their concern over eutrophication.
- Birds with young regularly clean their nest by removing droppings and usually deposit the results some distance away, presumably to avoid making the nest site too obvious to predators. Nestlings of some birds, [including crows](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1368982?seq=1), deposit their excrement inside [faecal sacs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_sac) which facilitate this cleaning. If you were in the northern hemisphere then it's very likely the crow did have young and was cleaning up.
- I don't know why the crow chose a pond to drop them in, but it would be a good way to hide the detritus - crows are noted for their intelligence but not, as far as I know, for their concern over eutrophication.
#2: Post edited
by
Pastychomper
·
2020-07-30T11:17:53Z (over 4 years ago)
Added info. on faecal sacs - thanks to WP.
Birds with young regularly clean their nest by removing droppings and other debris and usually deposit the results some distance away, presumably to avoid making the nest site too obvious to predators. If you were in the northern hemisphere then it's very likely the crow did have young and was cleaning up. Shell fragments and bird droppings can both be white, and I gather chick faeces are usually solid enough for the parent to pick up in a lump.- I don't know why the crow chose a pond to drop them in, but it would be a good way to hide the detritus - crows are noted for their intelligence but not, as far as I know, for their concern over eutrophication.
- Birds with young regularly clean their nest by removing droppings and usually deposit the results some distance away, presumably to avoid making the nest site too obvious to predators. Nestlings of some birds deposit their excrement inside [faecal sacs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_sac) to facilitate this cleaning. If you were in the northern hemisphere then it's very likely the crow did have young and was cleaning up.
- I don't know why the crow chose a pond to drop them in, but it would be a good way to hide the detritus - crows are noted for their intelligence but not, as far as I know, for their concern over eutrophication.
#1: Initial revision
by
Pastychomper
·
2020-07-30T11:11:48Z (over 4 years ago)
Birds with young regularly clean their nest by removing droppings and other debris and usually deposit the results some distance away, presumably to avoid making the nest site too obvious to predators. If you were in the northern hemisphere then it's very likely the crow did have young and was cleaning up. Shell fragments and bird droppings can both be white, and I gather chick faeces are usually solid enough for the parent to pick up in a lump. I don't know why the crow chose a pond to drop them in, but it would be a good way to hide the detritus - crows are noted for their intelligence but not, as far as I know, for their concern over eutrophication.