Some aspects of feeding ecology and behavior of House crow (Corvus splendens) in an urban habitat of city Prayagraj (U.P.), India

Abstract

The present article explains some aspects of feeding ecology and behavioral strategies adopted by house crow (Corvus splendens) in urban habitats. The house crow (C. splendens) is an omnivorous, scavenger, and highly opportunistic bird. Feeding ecology and behavior were observed in each study area following a suitable sampling method. House crow significantly feeds in unhygienic places and prefers food items from miscellaneous sources (human refuses, carcasses, etc.) over plant and animal sources during the day time. In the early morning, house crow mostly relied on plant and animal sources as food items. House crow significantly prefers to feed in the morning. Irrespective of the abundance of the various plant species house crow significantly prefers to feed products of five plant species, namely, Ficus religiosa, Azadirachta indica, Ficus racemosa, Ziziphus, Ficus indica, and Artocarpus lacucha. Other plants are only occasionally visited for feeding purposes. House crow significantly prefers to feed in the congregation; however, feeding solitary is not uncommon. House crow utilizes carcasses in congregation with the aid of feral dogs if otherwise unable to crack open carcasses alone. It also feeds on ticks present on the body surface of Sus srcofa. Instances of both inter and intraspecific competitions have been observed. Interspecific competitive events were significantly more common in comparison to intraspecific competitive events. Acridotheres tristis, Acridotheres ginginnianus, Gracupica contra, Passer domesticus, Bubulcus ibis, Egretta garzetta, Columbia livia, and Milvus migrans are bird species, house crow showed aggressive behavior. Apart from this, house crow showed both aggressiveness and appeasement toward Macaca sp. and feral dogs. House crow significantly spends more time in search of food items than actual feeding time. Four types of feeding methods, namely, searching, stealing, specific food offerings, and food retrieved from cached sites were observed to be adopted by house crows. Present outcomes will definitely help us to understand what strategies are adopted by birds to survive in the current urban scenario, at least by this bird. In addition, the present study will give some idea about how to manage the population of this invasive bird species.