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[Lani]

Posted on Montana Ospreys at Hellgate Facebook
Gifts of the Corvids: Raven and Crow Research in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BE8GCxx8sw

Mar 6, 2025
This talk took place at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in front of a live audience on March 6, 2025.

Corvids—the ubiquitous crows, ravens, magpies, jays, nutcrackers, and relatives—are familiar backyard birds with extraordinary behaviors that enable them to thrive where most species cannot. In this presentation, Marzluff highlights the secrets of corvid life unveiled by experiments and observations over the past four decades with his colleagues and students. The audience will learn how crows have mastered city life, including their long-lasting ability to recognize people and hold grudges. He will draw parallels between human cognition and that of crows by discussing brain imaging experiments that reveal how birds assess danger, rewards, and the difficulty of mastering tool use.

Marzluff’s latest work on ravens in Yellowstone National Park involved tagging 60 birds with state-of-the-art transmitters. The birds shared their secrets as they flew a hundred miles directly to new kills, commandeered territory, found mates, and reared young. The picture that emerged from the study was that of a highly opportunistic bird with the knowledge that allowed them to exploit wolves but not depend on them. Marzluff discusses the tenuous and evolving relationship between humans, wolves, and ravens and the challenges animals face when they wander beyond the protection a national park provides.

Biography:
Marzluff’s research has been the focus of articles in the New York Times, National Geographic, Audubon, Boys Life, The Seattle Times, National Wildlife, Consumer Reports, Time, and Science. PBS’s Nature featured his raven research in its production “Ravens,” and his crow research in the film documentary “A Murder of Crows.” His current research focuses on the interactions of ravens and wolves in Yellowstone. He teaches field ecology courses at the University of Washington and for Yellowstone Forever.

Marzluff has written six books and edited several others. His graduate research in communication, social organization, demography, and foraging behavior is the subject of The Pinyon Jay (1992, Academic Press, coauthored with his advisor Russell Balda). His book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens (with Tony Angell, 2005 Yale U. Press) blends biology, conservation, and anthropology to suggest that human and crow cultures have co-evolved. This book won the 2006 Washington State Book Award for general nonfiction. With his wife, Colleen, he published Dog Days, Raven Nights (2011, Yale University Press), which combines reflection with biology and the recreational pursuit of dog sledding to show how a life in science blooms. Gifts of the Crow (2012, Free Press, coauthored with Tony Angell) applies a neurobiological perspective to understand the amazing feats of corvids. Marzluff’s Welcome to Subirdia (2014, Yale) discovers that moderately settled lands host a splendid array of biological diversity and suggests ways in which people can steward these riches to benefit birds and themselves. His most recent book In Search of Meadowlarks (2020, Yale) connects our agriculture and diets to the conservation of birds and other wildlife.

Marzluff has mentored more than 40 graduate students and authored more than 170 scientific papers on various aspects of bird behavior and wildlife management. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithologist’s Union, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a National Geographic Explorer.
Transcript

[Lani]

BL, snow tomorrow night and into Friday is a real surprise... we had a nice rain shower Monday and Tuesday...... this snow will be a treat, though it comes with cold temps... Hopefully Flagstaff, Show Low, Pine Top and other ski areas will get a nice blast of snow for spring break!  . Thanks for the update 

Lani it looks like the forecast snowfall amounts by Payson are going up slightly.
I wouldn't be surprised if you end up with another 5-6" from the 2 pieces of this system.         

Stay warm, enjoy the view of the "great white Rim" and reap the much needed moisture benefits for your area. 

BL, Thanks! I'm suppose to go to a meeting in the morning. I'm rethinking now.

[baziunc]

HAPPY DAY, BEAKERS! 

Lisa, glad you're safely home and hope you slept great last night. Yay on the traffic being ok for your last leg leading home! 

Lani, I caught the very end of your KU Jayhawks game last night - a squeaker of a win in OT, but it was a win! Congrats! I see they play Arizona next - tonight - 9:30p, eastern time. My UNC Tarheels play their next game today - in about a half hour from now, vs. Wake Forest. I hope the Heels will play as well as they did yesterday - their shooting was so much better, thanks in part to Withers playing in his hometown with his family and friends in attendance - he was shooting the lights out from behind the 3-pt line! Do that again today, Withers!! Duke is up by 6 points now with a minute left in their game. Though not expected, I wish Ga Tech would find a way to pull out a win over Duke!! 

I need to run to get ready to watch my UNC Tarheels play now, so...

Waving to All the Beakers! Have a great day!! 

[tsk34]

PHYL   Nice history from Amy on Maggie.  She's not a young bird by any means.

LISA  He's doing better every day.  He came with me to the vet.      You did some mighty fine eating there Miss LISA  LOL
LANI reminded me about Bradley's knee - How is it? - I echo LANI.

KAREN   Sounds like you have the perfect solution to your broken tooth problem.

KB  Sure hope winter is over for you, but we don't put the snow blowers to bed until April  LOLOL  How nice to get out with Vi again.  Am sure she is happy for the walking partner as well.

LANI   Marzluff is certainly the go to guy on this topic!  Read a book a while back on Corvids but don't remember the author.  Fascinating birds.

LANI   Potoo  Kala.  I like that.

New vet visit.   A good experience.  Vet very calm, slow moving, kind.  Likely late 40s.  Runs a non profit cat shelter.  Has about 600 cats.  Female tech very funny.  When I had spoken about how shy Lulu is she related that she has two 14 yr old cats that her mother has never seen  LOLOL   Blood work done  complete exam done and a nail cutting and I will bring in a stool sample  tomorrow.  $447.00    Lulu did not make one move or make a sound while there.  They couldn't believe how well behaved she was or how soft her fur was.  Gave her a "purrfect rating"  LOL   Got her home and she FLEW out of he carrier no where to be seen for 10 minutes.
Heading out for a walk - Gorgeous day here.

[LisaG1967]

Lani - Jeff and Bandit were excited to see me, but Misty was like, who are you, till I got in the bed with the iPad and she was like..Oh yea...you are my person!   

tsk & Lani - Bradley is putting some weight on his leg/knee and trying walk around.  He was on crutches, but he said, now that he can stand on it a bit, he bought a cane to use to walk for support.  He goes back to the doctor on March 19th for a re-check.

tsk - Yes, I did some good eating, and it showed in my blood sugar too, yikes!  Glad to hear that Tim is doing better.  Sounds like a nice new vet for Miss Lulu. 

baz - Thank you!  Enjoy watching your game.