First Snow

Day 25: Intelligent creatures tend to be curious about the world around them, taking new events and circumstances as learning moments. On the most basic level, this contributes to their survival, but among the brighter bulbs, it can also be an opportunity to experiment. A young crow, seeing snow for the first time, might notice that it was colder than bare ground. However, with birds' countercurrent circulatory pattern rewarming blood from the legs as it returns to the body, this would likely fall into the category of "just how things are" and not be worthy of a second thought. The fact that a beakful of crisp white crystals turns rather quickly to water would be lodged in the brain for future reference in case of thirst. So far, we're talking about things which are almost instinctual, but what about play? What if you discovered that with a toss of your head you could shower one of your companion crows with this strange white stuff before it had a chance to melt in your mouth? Doesn't that sound like fun? On several occasions, I have watched what could only be called "snowball fights" between young crows or raven couples. The parties involved were unmistakably enjoying the experience because neither participant made any attempt to leave the scene despite having plenty of opportunities to do so. In fact, the game usually culminates with one or both of the players getting rolled about before settling back on the fence to dry out. Corvids play games in summer as well, catch-the-stick (baton-passing), aerial acrobatics and so on, but my crowd seem to enjoy winter sports most of all.