One of the most fascinating relationships between animals is the one that seems to exist between wolves and ravens. The raven, scavenger of food of all types, will often follow wolf packs in hopes of morsels of food. And wolves have learned to watch for circling ravens as a sign of of possible food below. But there seems to be more than just a symbiosis based on food between the two species; many observations have been made that can only be described as a friendship between the big predator and the wily bird.
Fancy and I have been working our way through an 8-hour bird video for cats and she especially likes these handsome little guys. I can’t keep calling them LRBs (Little Red Bastards).
I do not know the bird but you remind me of my grandpa. He’s a birdwatcher and he calls all those interchangeable small brown species LBJs (Little Brown Jobs).
I understand that’s the technical term among birders! I’ve heard LBB as well, for Little Brown Bird, but I like Little Brown Jobbies best.
Also the bird is a Eurasian Jay! So handsome!
The Eurasian Jay is simply called the “Jay” by English speakers in Europe. They are a type of corvid, like crows and ravens and magpies, but Jays are quite shy. They are big and anxious, with soft fat bodies that blend in to their surroundings, apart from a sudden flash of blue when they fly. They hide quietly in deep trees, and are usually invisible. They love oak trees particularly, and they hoard acorns like squirrels. They are powerful planters of trees, and can carry acorns for great distances, with each bird able to plant hundreds of trees a year. They hate leaving trees and are basically NEVER seen outside of dense tree cover, so this is probably their attempt at conquering Eurasia by means of forests.
This may be surprising to people who know the Blue Jay. The Blue Jay is a North American bird and was named by colonists after the Jay, though they’re only distant cousins. (still corvids but not close relatives.) They’re a a Big Yeller and just…. very Much, all the time. They are smallish and made out of volume and boldness. They shout at cats and Start Shit and are very brave and clever. They don’t worry about trees half so much.
