Do crows really like shiny objects?

Yes they really do and if they can pick it up they will take it.

So now it's July 11th, about 9 months since my first successful crow experiment. Now I have three regular crows that come by and see me every day. We're all totally friends and they're just as funny and clever as i imagined they would be. I've become a true crow expert on my own and if anyone has any questions, do ask! Sunrises and spring never sprung me out of bed every morning like these beautiful birds with a bad wrap have. But how is it one of the smartest animals on the planet is also one of the most over looked?

I've been trying to attract crows and ravens to my backyard for two weeks now. I have a picnic table outside which i've placed various food items out attempting to get them to feed in my backyard. For two weeks i left out dog food, tomatos and bread. So what happened? A squirrel and various other birds came along and ate the food. BUT GUESS WHAT! So today i decided to try something different. I decided to test for myself whether or not they are attracted to shiny objects. So i took some tin foil and folded it to cover any sharp edges, and i made it into a box shape, placed dog food inside, and left it out on that picnic table. For the first time in two weeks a crow FINALLY visited my picnic table, snatched up the tinfoil and left with it. HAHAHAHA SUCCESS!!!! I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow with my next idea. To be continued...

I read quite a bit of information about crows, but I couldn't find any definitive answer as to if they really like shiny objects. I have heard that they do but none of the educational sites I looked at say for sure. Here is some interesting reading. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/AMECRO/ http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/103/_/American_Crow.aspx http://www.ascaronline.org/ http://www.athenamama.com/cgi-bin/mt/archives/000145.html http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Corvus_brachyrhynchos.html http://www.angelfire.com/id/ravensknowledge/ http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Crow.html#top http://birdsbybent.com/ch81-90/amercrow.html http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1650%2F7646&ct=1

Yes. If you go find a crows nest you will see, just like the magpie, their is a little trail of all sorts of shiny things leading the way. The male does this to impress a female. She then decides who is the better nest builder | mate. Thank you animal planet!

I have never noticed I will have to watch more carefully.

I think so because just like sea gulls seem to dart for something that shines I would say the same is for them. Here's some info: " Crows, ravens and magpies—all similarly accused of this superficial obsession—prefer to line their nests with soft moss, grass or animal fur. These birds do horde food items, are known for stealing food (even from kitchen tables, if they have access), and may show an attraction toward certain non-edible items. They don’t collect shiny objects per se, but may (extremely rarely) take them and even hide them someplace as an outgrowth of these behaviors." Source:http://archives.stupidquestion.net/sq11702.html