All day I have been wondering about the leaf gift. Why a leaf? Why a particularly large one?
I came up with this idea....I don't know if it's right, or what.
It could be that Crows regard such items as prime nesting material. I know they use sticks, but they also use leaves. Sticks form the basic framework, but leaves are interwoven and produce insulation and some softness. Probably a little weatherproofing as well. It may be that such an item has quite a lot of value for them. Even though it is past nesting season for this year, and way too early for the Spring season.
Martha (she chose her own name via a sudden "telepathy" lol!) is still unsure of herself. She follows Koori about but I have also seen them apart. However, when food is involved she is right on Koori's tail! Koori is getting a bit sick of it. I have seen him try to evade Martha's demands many a time, and carry his sandwich out of her reach again and again. Sometimes he relents and gives her some. They love each other and stick together, but Martha hassles Koori and can be quite lazy if she thinks she can get food off him.
(N.B. Koori is not a transgender Crow! I can not be sure if he/she is female or male. There are no distinctive markings with Crows as far as I know to tell what sex they are, and also as far as I know, both males and females share parenting duties. That's why one minute I call Koori "he", and the next "she".
Maybe it's a lesson to tell me it doesn't matter much?
Martha is something else. One morning I saw Martha, whom I used to call "Koori-Baby" up in a tree, and said, "It's time we found a proper name for you. What name would you like?" Immediately and with no messing about, the name "Martha" sprang to my mind as if it had been spoken to me! So I guess that one is female, if telepathy has anything to do with it.)
I came up with this idea....I don't know if it's right, or what.
It could be that Crows regard such items as prime nesting material. I know they use sticks, but they also use leaves. Sticks form the basic framework, but leaves are interwoven and produce insulation and some softness. Probably a little weatherproofing as well. It may be that such an item has quite a lot of value for them. Even though it is past nesting season for this year, and way too early for the Spring season.
Martha (she chose her own name via a sudden "telepathy" lol!) is still unsure of herself. She follows Koori about but I have also seen them apart. However, when food is involved she is right on Koori's tail! Koori is getting a bit sick of it. I have seen him try to evade Martha's demands many a time, and carry his sandwich out of her reach again and again. Sometimes he relents and gives her some. They love each other and stick together, but Martha hassles Koori and can be quite lazy if she thinks she can get food off him.
(N.B. Koori is not a transgender Crow! I can not be sure if he/she is female or male. There are no distinctive markings with Crows as far as I know to tell what sex they are, and also as far as I know, both males and females share parenting duties. That's why one minute I call Koori "he", and the next "she".
Maybe it's a lesson to tell me it doesn't matter much?
Martha is something else. One morning I saw Martha, whom I used to call "Koori-Baby" up in a tree, and said, "It's time we found a proper name for you. What name would you like?" Immediately and with no messing about, the name "Martha" sprang to my mind as if it had been spoken to me! So I guess that one is female, if telepathy has anything to do with it.)
