Are crows attracted to shiny objects? (Rumor or fact?) 

As a child my friend was always getting blamed for loosing keys, necklaces, etc… they also had a crow that would visit their yard daily. After a bad storm a tree fell and there was the crows nest! Lo and behold within the nest was all the little missing trinkets!!

I live in Quebec, Canada, and I put out some sparkly, broken earrings to see if the crows would come for them. I put the pieces in two trays. The next morning they were all gone and I found a rusty nail on the small table on the patio. I have no clue where the nail came from and I can only conclude that my friendly crows left it as a thank you gift. :)

Apart from the crow experiment I laughed when I saw the jays doing what they do in my yard. They pick up several peanuts and put them down again, as if trying to see which weighs more before selecting the one they are going to take.

I think the CD was too much - too big and reflective. I have a murder of crows who come to my backyard every day and have left me gifts including a gold necklace and a rusty bracelet. I love crows! ❤

I think shiny metal in general scares birds. I remember reading a tip somewhere about protecting fruit trees from birds by hanging old CDs, metallic pinwheels, or aluminum pie pans in the branches.

Growing up my family has pecan orchards with hundreds of pecan trees. That we harvested pecans from as a business. From time to time crows nests would be found that had fallen out of the trees with featherless baby crows still alive. Many times fire ants would find them first. We would feed and raise a few here and there. They are very social with humans if raised with them. They stayed outside and would hang out with other wild crows until they saw one of us or we called their name. Then they would swoop in out of nowhere. They knew their names also. You could yell Harry or Chester and here they would come. Usually the other two would show up eventually but the one you called would almost always get there first. Chester would ride on the hood of the pickup hanging onto the windshield wiper and spread his wings like he was flying and make a sound I can only describe as laughter. I don't know if this is a result of them being semi domesticated, but they collected so many shiny things. You couldn't leave your windows down because they would take your keys. They would take ballpoint pens that were shiny and metal. They would take bottle caps of beer bottles. The coke tabs that used to pull off all the way before they had the little ones that stick on there. Nickels and dimes, they didn't really care for pennies too much. Me and my brother work constantly having to climb on top of the house and get keys to people's vehicles back because they would leave the windows rolled down. Neighbors that were miles away sometimes had their keys end up on top of the house. And of the three they all had their own pile. Norton's pile was the absolute worst. His was always two to three times larger than Harry's or Chester's. So I don't know if it's a regional thing, a domestication thing or what but they collected shiny things.

I fed a crow once and it brought me a CD IT WAS A FRIKIN RICK ROLL CD!

Crows are smart enough to thwart human's experiments about them.

I used to spin my wedding ring on the picnic table. Of course, I left it there and went in the house for awhile. Saw a crow out on the deck and when I went outside both the crow and my ring were gone. I think its in the crook of a tree at the back of the property the crows poke around in from time to time. Too high to climb for me. It's his now.

The camera probably scares them away especially if the record light comes on. And they seem to bring small metal objects like pennies if you leave them out. They will also leave you feathers and bones. Blue Jays are part of the crow family so they will come around also. And the CD and fork is probably too big.

I just had six crows in my backyard and one of them flew off with a ping pong ball that was out there.

on a kayak expedition deep into remote regions of Lake Powell, apparently a crow got into my unattended partially open bag in the kayak as we were hiking about a mile up from the beached boats. I might not have noticed, but a big crow flew low right over my head carrying a large wrapped Little Debbie rice crispy treat in his beak like a canard wing, croaking once. The only way I have successfully attracted them here in MO was with meat scraps. They don't want peanuts in shells here.

In Prince Edward Island where I live during the summer, crows will pick up pieces of foil, like tinsel, and wrappers from candy bars. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I have crows visit me daily for cat food and peanuts. A family of 5. Dad, Mum, and 3 Babes. I befriended them last Christmas and they been coming every single day ever since. I’m located along the east coast at the tippy top of N Florida. I was recently told by a elderly naturalist hippie lady to loosely hang small shiny objects in my big tree in the front yard. Hang the necklace from a branch. Drill a hole in a coin and small baby spoon. And to do this sporadically. One or two items every other day from when you notice items missing. Slowly and methodically. I think you should give this experiment another go if your crows are still around. Start slow and small. Hang them. I’ll do it with you! Let’s see how we do!? ✨

Maybe it's all about presentation. If I saw a steak dinner sitting beside a calculator, I'd personally choose the steak dinner. Unless it's a Texas Instruments TI-80 series running Doom. Then maybe I'd be interested. 😁

If you ever re-test this idea, try leaving the cd out. I've used them to keep woodpeckers from destroying my house. My pet budgies are creeped out by them too, and they love to investigate shiny objects, especially silver rings. I chose them to keep woodpeckers away because they are easy to spot, but mainly because they look like giant eyes 👁️👄👁️

I had the same experience with my crow family that visits daily. I tried to attract them to a huge silver tray with bird seeds. However, they avoided the tray and went to the usual place I leave their peanuts. I love crows!

They could be afraid of the camera.

The frequency that is emitted from your camera whenever it is recording is probably what is deterring them. There is a pulse sent out anytime you touch a touch screen phone to zoom in on your camera Etc and a GoPro emits frequencies as well that most animals avoid. That's why it's so hard to get a good face pic of an animal because they always turn away when you're pulling the camera out LOL

This man robbed his kids in the name of crow friends

One of the crows at my house just stole a silver food bowl that I use to feed a feral cat. He literally picked it up and flew off with it and then dropped it in my driveway. So maybe it depends on the crow? Or because he knew there was food in it? They steal the cat food daily. I’m going to get some peanuts and corn just for them so maybe the cat can actually get to eat his food in peace. 😂

Noticed that before crows got there, blue jays where giving heads up 😂

Crows like tools, and yes I believe they are interested in shining things, but not during time eating, my crows are 5 deep, and I notice they have scout crows that watch, while others eat, and they are very very thorough ie if I go walking around the block they call to each other at different points of my walk and basically have constant sight of me from the trees, and announce to each other where I'm at on the block...this is only if they are waiting to eat, because I on the other hand only feed them once a day, and it's basically scraps and leftovers and catfood, yet I do hook them up with peanuts, cashews, but they also love dipping their food in water. I noticed there are many birds in that area, if it was " their own personal area in the yard" they'd be more likely to chill rather than jack a peanut and take off, understand, they can eat like pigs, I feed them macaroni and cheese, ham, chicken, beans, any leftovers, and then catfood on top of leftovers then peanuts on top of catfood, and tbh them and the buzzards are usually posted in one spot of the yard, and the other birds like blue Jay's cardinals, Robin's, they in another spot more by the seed, my crows never tried for the bird feeders so I just started feeding them in a completely different area, they love to heckle things, like cats or the buzzards lol, get smaller objects and put it in the food, they won't accidentally eat it, rather pick it out, game won for the crows, they like puzzles, and they recognize your face, they have the intelligence of a 5 year old and the camera tbh could of been weird to them..

3:08 notices the camera

My crows LOVE the bird bath, they left me frog leg bones with a flipper on the end, or a baby duck or chicken leg bones yesterday!

I had observed crow are carring extra food and hide it somewhere else and able to find out it latter. I AM KEEPING LEFTOVER FOOD AND WATER FOR BIRDS EVERY SUMMER from Pune,India. Thank you for informattive video..

Makes sense. After all, even humans are attracted to shiney things. ✅

wasnt it magpie whose attracted to shiny objects?

My grandma used to hang aluminum pie plates from her pear trees to keep the crows from ruining all the fruit. The movement and noise when the wind blew would also scare the squirrels.

Haven’t seen them attracted to shiny objects - likely b/c I myself am attracted to them, and keep them in the house! 😂 I had a friend who put out a whole (unboiled) chicken’s egg for a crow, every day. Just left the egg on a stump for it. As for shiny, crows are cautious. Maybe you made it too obvious? Nice footage

Thanj you scott for the live cams the videos just everything I love nature thank you :)

It’s good you got them to even venture into your square feeders .. mine wont. Some mentioned the CD as a deterrent and the go-pro. Others have also mentioned they won’t go near cameras. Finally, i think the plastic dish is the biggest problem. Next time just dump the objects on the ground…. And only small things like bottlecaps, coins, rings.. nothing bigger than that. BUT if they are building nests nearby they use all kinds of wire and stuff.. including coathangers.

Your objects were stationary, but more importantly very little opportunity for sun spots reflected objects make.

I think they like sparkly things more, things that reflect the sun the most probably. I think putting Pennies on the roof helped when I first began attracting them. I know water reflects too so maybe this is another reason birds notice shiny things. Shiny things also can indicate movement or a change in habitat so it could draw attention to the area. Maybe they don’t like the cd 😹

“Then I just walked about the house looking for anything that … … wasn’t mine!” 😊 Seriously, thoroughly enjoyed your video and experiment. I wonder if you’d get different results by isolating the shiny stuff, ie, just leave the nail clipper out on its own. Have subscribed. I live in rural France (since 2008) . Plenty of crows thankfully. But in my time there has been a decimation of animal varieties. Loved seeing squirrels and the crows just about tolerating one another.

Crows are intelligent birds really! 🐦♥️💙

Crows loved the pint plastic deli tub I tried to set out to provide water in the summer. A crow would grab the rim and dump the water as it waved the tub around. Fortunately, they left the replacement ceramic pet bowl alone

I tryied to attract them with chrome chains, keychans, cat food, fish and an enbalmed crow that a friend gave me. After 20 min there were 50 crows in the air, screaming for 10 min, everyone looking at me, but none landed :( I will try peanuts and no chrome

Some crows do like shiny stuff. One visits the shiny metal chimney pot on the house opposite - it almost attacks it. At first i thought it had lost a friend down the chimney but on speaking to the owner, nope - it just likes to come and bash and pull on it with its beak like it's gonna take it home one day if it just keeps trying. It wakes us all up early with the noise!

Because they think it’s food.

There was a news story a few years ago (Vancouver?) about a knife wielding crow and a follow up about how it's offspring had similar tendencies.

Cool experiment! I might guess the novelty concerns them, particularly with the food and objects together experiment section. Once I was feeding crows and pigeons on a beach, (tossing nuts on the ground near me), and the crows only took food if I looked away. Each time, I dropped food closer till some was on my foot. The pigeon took food even from my foot, but the crows kept a certain distance, letting the pigeon eat everything, as they watched from their perception of safety. (Too close and it didn't matter if I looked away or not, they wouldn't approach, unlike the pigeon.). Those crows watched other animals eat near the shiny objects but didn't do so themselves. Their caution outweighs observed novel convenience.

The animals at night are particularly interesting. Thanks

I think the objects have catch a glare from sunlight. Making it a curiosity to them.

My crows like cheezzits

Q: try it again without the cd? The cd has an unnatural sparkle; nobody said they were attracted to iridescent objects. In fact, don't people string up aluminum pie pans to repel crows from gardens? The cd is reminiscent of a pie pan, imo.

Yeah. I would have to agree with you. The times I've found shiny materials in nests, it tends to be a pack rat or a racoon. Found an antique silver heart shaped locket once when I was like 13. It was in a barn in Keene, TX. Probably a packrat.

Interesting!

Oh, well... I was hoping to attract crows with a shiny-handle bird feeder. I guess the handle won't matter much, as long as I fill the feeder with peanuts...

I have crows that come to my platform feeder daily and I know they would be afraid if they saw something different on or by the feeder! They are very suspicious creatures. I have also been feeding them for years and I have yet to have them bring me any gifts lol!

😃Nice video

In my experience with crows and ravens, they are often shy of something "new" for a while, maybe even days. No surprise they preferred eating the peanuts in the shell. Nothing can be inferred from that really. I agree with one commentator that said "the CD was too much". Also, instead of putting it all in a bowl, spread it out on the ground or on a surface. Overkill, visual overload perhaps. Hours of testing don't mean a thing with these smart creature. Days and weeks of it would provide better data. Thanks for trying!

A visit to any crow’s nest will show cigarette pack foil woven into it. I saw a crow’s nest that featured the arm of a red flannel shirt as its lining.

I have many crows 🐦‍⬛ on my property along with fowl I raised and stray cats that I adopt ! For some reason several months ago I decided to google information on crows and I looked them up on RU-vid too . The information I learned was that to get crows to trust you , one must leave them small shiny things because they use these to decorate their nest ! It also said to feed them every day at the same time and to talk to them so they can remember your voice . Well I did all that and even ordered beautiful gold plated dime size buttons that have crystals in 12 different shiny colors ! Totally lovely ! I also decided to add cashews to their peanuts and sunflower seeds ! Well today is May 9th Thursday 2024 2 1/2 months later and the crows eat up the nuts but the shiny crystal buttons , they totally ignore ! I have put them around their food trays and my roof top and nothing ! They don’t take anything and still fly away when I try to befriend them ! So as far as I am concerned the story that crows 🐦‍⬛ like shiny things is a made up lie ! A total myth ! New subscriber ! 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰😊😊😊⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍

I’m attracted to food, too! 😂😂

Crows are not afraid of shiny stuff. They HATE unknown objects. At least objects of a certain size. You could have put whatever big thing in the food box and they would have been extremely distrustful. The collection of metal objects may just be too much. I would have put one small piece next to the food box. I am friends with 15+ crows whom I feed daily on my balcony. Most of them do not mind picking up food from 10cm next to me (given I look in the opposite direction), one or two have taken food from my hand. I do not really have an opinion on this question. During the four years of our close relationship they (I guess) have made me just one present (I noticed as such): a beautiful peace of metal (no idea what it is), looks like copper. Crows (assuming they are similar everywhere) do not really like peanuts. I made some experiments a while ago. Their most preferred (kind of) nut is cashew. By a huge margin. In winter many of my crows prefer cashew even over meat. The next best ones are walnuts / Brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnut, peanut. Everything without shell. My spoilt brats would not even take peanuts without shell any more. Some even give me a disappointed stare when they see only walnuts in the bowl... They like peanuts and (much more) walnuts for storage, though. Nuts are a bad food while they are feeding their nestlings. During that time you should switch to meat, fish, eggs, and/or insects. 🖤

Agreeing with you, crows in general are not interested in our shiny objects, except for those who were exposed to share time with humans 😊

The only other variable I can think of, is, did you make the shiny objects available at the time when crows were mating and nest building?

I’m getting ready to put out a crow feeder. Will they bother my other smaller birds and their feeders? Will the squirrels invade and take over? Thanks for your help!

In the UK it is Magpies and Jackdaws.

In Japan, CDs are used to scare away crows and other birds.

For my yard, the crows chased away the hawks and owls so then there was nothing to decrease the rat and mice population. Very sad.

For some reason the crows/ravens around me like marbles. Go figure.

maybe they're jaded enough to know its bait?

Magpies love shiny objects! They don't call them camp robbers for nothing.!!😉

I read things that are too reflective, they get spooked. I'm guessing the cd is the culprit

I always heard it was magpies attracted to shiny objects

Try shiny side out aluminum foil. And blue shiny things like glass marble type stuff

I think the CD may scared them.

Ohio, Holmes County. Never see them take anything shiny. I have left shiny things out also and nothing taken. But I have trained a few not to caw next to home. And when that doesn't work I place a Styrofoam Crow upside down in my window to upset them.

I would probably do one shiny thing at a time. A whole bundle looks like a trap.

Not crows, but what looked like maybe a magpie, anyway it was black and white, carry off a military canopener (P38) while I was in an apc (M113) on training in Australia back in the 80s or 90s.

I put a quarter out with their food and they took the quarter.

Like Bower birds they may only care about shiny and colorful objects during mating season when they live to attract mates. Of course, I'm totally ignorant about this subject. Just Guessing

I think it may be Magpies and not Crows. There's a Magpie that's attracted to a bit of shiny metal on my satellite dish. It perches on it and pecks at it when the sun shines off it.

thanks for this i try use just top of beer can tabs yet no i wish was true yet always lies have to find out hard way

Maybe the CD was a bit too shiny and oversized... reading the comment about how crows avoided the lady's silver plated feeder. A little shine catches their eyes, too much might keep them at bay!?! You should retry this with a smaller, pickable items.

Tried what you did with shiny things .and NOPE..no interest!!! There it is!!!

Have you bright colors? I would be interested if they are attracted to colors. I think I saw somewhere that marbles were part of a gift exchange with humans friendly humans they trust.

still hard to get them to where you like feed frustrations an all just be paitent

to the crows those are yours

I see some flaws in your experimental designs. That said ur recommendations that do work are just as anecdotal but I'm desperate and will try anything

Crows here generally prefer meat and would reject peanuts . Not adverse to stealing car keys !!?

Cd was too much , try again with no cd or fork only small trinkets

I think you had too much stuff there and some things intimidatingly big for the crows. If you try using one small shiny object about the size of a dime or a ring, I think you'll have better luck.

I heard doves are afraid of CDs, so maybe other birds as well. Try without it.

It looks like a trap😅

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 Did you try to scatter the shiny objects on the ground away from the container ? Did you try smaller shiny objects ? Nope nope nope So your theory could be false information Thank you I have been feeding crows for about 4 years now

not on crows test it on raven

OH MY GOD, STEALING FROM YOUR KIDS.

Are they attracted to your car? No… too big. Put a single coin or small piece of jewelry in a NOT shaded area.

Can't just throw shiny things out there, learn before you do it.

They are not human.

No! That steal all the time and bring you stuff back. All the time. Keep your dog out of that area! And but the feeders higher off the ground. Yes these cd so a no no