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Post by henrizeibis on Jul 3, 2007 23:19:54 GMT 7
there wouldn't be any laws against keeping a crow as a pet would there? Cause they are quite intellignet birds and i want to see if it's possible to train one. Anyone got any ideas on how to get one?
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Post by Jen on Jul 9, 2007 8:24:08 GMT 7
Not sure about the laws on that one but yes they are trainable and they can be taught to talk. I would definately not be taking one without giving CALM (Dept of Conservation and Land management" a call or whoever is in charge of that sort of thing in your area (not sure where you are from) Bottom line is I am 99% sure it would be illegl to take any bird from the wild unless you had a really really good reason for doing so. It is unbelievable how hard it is to get an outright confirmation of this but from what I have read I would believe you must have a permit to take any bird from the wild, native, protected or otherwise.
However on another note... you may find that what you are seeing is actually the "Common Australian Raven" and not a crow at all. Most easy to identify by that two or three short and one long call they make kinda like "airrk ark, ark, arrrrwwwk" which starts quite high and finishes low and almost at a gurgle. Their scientific name is Corvus coronoides, (coronoides actually means "crow-shaped") Adult Australian Ravens are black with white eyes. Their throat feathers (hackles) are longer than those of other species. Juveniles resemble adults, but have dark eyes, shorter throat hackles, and sometimes have a pink fleshy gape. (Description taken from Wilkapaedia) Diet consists of carrion, insects, seeds, fruit, small reptiles, nestlings and eggs. The preference ratio is 34% carrion, 42% invertebrates and 24% plant material.
We do actually get crows here though (They are called The Little Crow) and they are less crow-like in appearance in my opinion being a bit smaller 45-48cm compared to the raven which is aboout 48-54cm and more slender in appearance overall, also a few other different crows and ravens but their calls are completely different to the aussie raven which is definately the easiest way to identify them.
Getting back to your original thought on trainability, A friend of mine used to have a pet raven that he rescued after it was found with a broken wing, that quite clearly said "F##K Orff Arrseeehooooole" in that long drawling sound that they make if you can imagine it. Unfortunately I believe it died after eating snail pellets in someones garden.
Hope this helps or at least ensures you will check with the proper authorities before you go getting into trouble doing something illegal and possibly having ALL your birds confiscated! I know of a guy who rescued a black cockatoo with a broken wing and CALM took the entire contents of his avairies. Although I have been told that people will take birds from the wild and deliberately break their wings so that they can pretend they are "rescuing" them so no wonder CALM are cautious.
Cheers Jen
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Post by Peter on Jul 9, 2007 14:52:27 GMT 7
jen is on the ball.
They can bve great talkers, but legally you need to have a special licences, or a carers licence to own most native animals. Look into it, perhaps fire calm an email
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Post by henrizeibis on Jul 9, 2007 16:46:49 GMT 7
nd yea i know it was a raven already but more people just call em crows anyway an yea i think i might check up on that thanks for the advice.
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