A corvid-feline moment I witnessed today

blacbird

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I dwell with a very large (~22 pound) and very hairy and deeply cross-eyed mixed Siamese and Maine Coon tomcat named Max (short for "Maximum"). He is about as ferocious as a brine shrimp. Late this afternoon, it being a nice day, I opened a door upstairs to an enclosed deck to let him and his more delicate and refined sister out for some air, which they love. Just as he poked his nose outside, a magpie flew to landing on the deck railing right in front of him, and began screeching at him. Being a severely savage carnivorous predatory feline, he . . .

ran inside and hid.

caw
 

cornflake

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Hee. Hey, you were out there, you deal with it! Besides, you don't know what the magpie was saying. Maybe it came up all 'your human is so ugly....' and Max just got all embarrassed.
 

PyriteFool

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My mother raises crows, and boy can I tell you, corvids are tricky bastards. Doubly terrifying because both cats and corvids are known for playing solely for pleasure, which means they understand cruelty. Max may have had the right idea. Knew something we didn't.
 

rugcat

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I had a cat who once somehow caught a bluejay. He was running across the street holding it in his mouth, and it was still alive squawking and flapping. A couple other jays went after him, divebombing him and actually getting in some pretty good licks, or that's what it looked like.

Halfway across the street he gave up, let go of the jay, and streaked for the safety of the house.
 

Justin K

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Most humans run from six and eight legged creatures the size of a penny. I think it's all about the perceived danger, and not wanting to have to deal with the unknown, and fears we inherited through evolution that once helped us survive. Cats are just the more humorous.
 

Silva

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Most humans run from six and eight legged creatures the size of a penny. I think it's all about the perceived danger, and not wanting to have to deal with the unknown, and fears we inherited through evolution that once helped us survive. Cats are just the more humorous.

Well, I only run from the ones larger than a quarter.

:D

But yes.
 

Cobalt Jade

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I have seen a flock of crows chase away a bald eagle, but even as brash as they are, they in turn they can be routed by a hummingbird. Hummers are extremely aggressive to other birds.
 

regdog

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One of my dogs was afraid of ants, and another was afraid of flies. Remember, it's better to run like hell than need a band aid.
 

frimble3

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Yeah, both species like to play.
One autumn, our cat was stealthily climbing out along the branches in a leafless tree in our yard. Her goal: a crow sitting idly out on the end of a branch. She got out onto the skinny outside branches, almost within pouncing distance, when the crow took off - to the other side of the tree. The cat managed to turn around, and creep back to the trunk, and started out crowwards again. The crow apparently had another appointment, 'cause it squawked once, and took off for good.
I believe that squawk was corvid for 'Sucker!'
 

kikazaru

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My cousins dog was afraid of feathers. All she had to do to keep him off the couch was place a few feathers on the cushions and he wouldn't even come into the living room!
 

regdog

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Close your eyes, Haggis, More dog shamming.

You think that's shameful? Our old dog was scared of soap bubbles.


My current dog, a mastiff, is scared anything that's different. When I ate some cereal in the living room, she barked at the cereal box because she'd never seen it there before.
 

ElaineA

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A couple of years ago we had a crow who decided to tease our Jack Russell by swooping between 2 fir trees, just out of reach of my poor demented dog (who was practically hopping on 2 feet running back and forth, back and forth.) There was no divebombing, just gentle arcs dropping close enough to make my dog give chase. I don't know who was laughing harder, me or the crow.
 

cornflake

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Close your eyes, Haggis, More dog shamming.

My current dog, a mastiff, is scared anything that's different. When I ate some cereal in the living room, she barked at the cereal box because she'd never seen it there before.

My friends had a newfie, huge, gorgeous, sweet dog terrified of all manner of stuff. Which was fine, except she didn't seem to know she was a newfie, so when a storm hit or there was a noise or whatever, she'd run to hide and/or seek comfort.... by your legs under the desk, behind your knees on the couch, on your lap... She weighed 190lbs.
 

The Farmer

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Hahaha Too Funny!!

I had a big Maine Coon named Rocky. He lived to be 27 years old. He had his teeth pulled when he was 18 (didn't slow him at all!). I used to put a collar on him and tie him up in the back yard when I was working out there.

Three times - he caught a robin. Tied up, he was still able to catch birds! Love those Maine Coons!
 

Roxxsmom

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One of my dogs was afraid of ants, and another was afraid of flies. Remember, it's better to run like hell than need a band aid.

I once had a cat who would lick ants up off the pavement. He evidently thought they were pleasantly tart.

When we first adopted my dog Wiley, he was scared of storm drains. He would give them a wide berth on walks, pulling at the leash to cross to the other side of the street. This ended when we adopted a younger dog who is fascinated with them (because critters hide in them sometimes--she saw a skunk down there once). Being a copycat dog, Wiley now checks them out too.
 
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Bacchus

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My mother raises crows, and boy can I tell you, corvids are tricky bastards.

Sitting in a traffic jam at roadworks a couple of years ago I saw a crow flapping and screaming at a squirrel, notably preventing it from running back to a tree. Eventually the crow chased the squirrel into the traffic that was moving the other way with the inevitable traumatic end for the squirrel. The lights changed so the traffic coming the other way stopped and the crow dined heartily on fresh squirrel. What amazed me was that the crow was effectively using "us" as a tool to kill its prey; just stunning.
 

blacbird

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We also get Steller's jays up here in Alaska, which are slightly larger than eastern blue jays, and really beautiful birds, dark blue grading smoothly to nearly black on the head and crest. And they are really smart and very territorial. They also love to torment the cats at every opportunity.

caw
 

mrsmig

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Cobalt Jade

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We also get Steller's jays up here in Alaska, which are slightly larger than eastern blue jays, and really beautiful birds, dark blue grading smoothly to nearly black on the head and crest. And they are really smart and very territorial. They also love to torment the cats at every opportunity.

WE get them in Seattle too. They remind me of French police officers somehow.