Morning Mirror 73- 1st December 2003 |
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Hang on a minute - and put down that rock. Shouldn't we be giving this a bit more thought? The pied crow is a true-blue Zimbabwean, not like the dear little house sparrow, who claims the lion's share at the bird table without ever renouncing his English origins, nor even the gorgeous paradise flycatcher who claims temporary right of abode in equatorial Africa when he doesn't like our winter weather. OK, so he's loud, arrogant and disrespectful - a bit of a delinquent. But the pied crow is part of a family of birds who are generally reckoned to be the smartest of them all. Intensely curious and innovative, they will pick up and investigate interesting objects. In New Caledonia they've been seen using "tool kits" of various shapes and sizes of twigs to extract different insects from the foliage. And they're playful too, crows have been seen pulling vultures' tails at a kill, and sometimes they hang upside down from branches or even suspend themselves from their bills. Just for the hell of it. Their feeding habits qualify them as urban vultures and there's the rub. There's a superabundance of food in Bulawayo these days and like all animals, including ourselves, crows take full advantage of the good times. More food, more crows, more trouble. On our farm at Marula, Rich has been doing a study of nesting birds for the past ten years. The predation rate on open nesters like bulbuls (toppies) has been staggeringly high. Up to 90% of these nests are trashed each year by snakes, monkeys, baboons, night apes, genets and other birds. We don't like it but we haven't contemplated exterminating the offenders. They're making a living, that's all. Our feelings about it are irrelevant. The trouble is that in our towns we have caused an imbalance in the crow population by making conditions so attractive for them. We made the problem, now it's up to us to solve it. We have to start by cleaning up our act, and stop leaving rubbish around. In Harare in the 80's, crows were accused of spreading disease in the townships and suburbs. Get rid of the crows! people shouted, until someone pointed out that there must be plenty of rubbish about to feed all these birds, and that if they didn't do the job of cleaning it up, someone else would. RATS! A single pair of house rats can produce up to 100 offspring in a year, and in 1665, these busy little creatures managed to reduce the population of London by half with the bubonic plague. I know who I'd rather share my garden with! Bookey Peek name: Terry D. Quinn While doing some research on Chivhu-Enkledoorn, I bumped into your website and thoroughly enjoyed the articles. I'm an American who lives in Johannesburg and has an on-going love affair with Chivhu and Beira, Mozambique (partially abandoned places that once must have been quite something etc.). Well, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your countrymen and women. My best friends, the Coopers of Harare, are the nicest people I have ever known and I visit them at least once a year. All the best to you. By the way, did you go to the two drive-in theaters in Bulawayo when you were a child? I've taken many pictures of them over the years. I'm 37 years old and was lucky to have had a drive-in in my small town growing up (then it was demolished for a 16-theater, indoor monstrosity). SCHOLEFIELDS I have a lovely long e mail from Clive and Lyn
Scholefield, if anyone would like me to send it to them please e mail me
on magskriel@mac.com
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