The crow that lived like no other
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00:00 What happened here is truly one of a kind.
00:03 Peek-a-boo!
00:04 I've worked with animals for a very long time,
00:06 and even I can't explain this.
00:08 I'm Kaylee, and this is Darling's story for GeoBeats.
00:13 About three years ago, I was out for a walk with Sam, my border collie,
00:18 and we found fledgling crow.
00:20 She was feathered, but not fully flighted.
00:23 I have a lot of experience with birds,
00:25 and I know it's best to leave baby birds where you find them.
00:29 As the night fell, I did become a little concerned
00:32 because she hadn't moved up or the other crows hadn't come by.
00:36 So I did make a makeshift nest, and I just put her on my deck.
00:40 And then in the next couple days, the other crows did come by,
00:43 and she did start flying, but she just never left the property.
00:46 There you are!
00:48 Come on, woo!
00:50 She stuck around, stayed by the house.
00:52 We do have a large property that became her territory.
00:57 Come on!
00:59 She would always tap on our window every morning.
01:04 Sometimes she would make the owl vocalization.
01:07 [owl hooting]
01:09 She always wanted us to come out and play.
01:11 I would walk my dog every day, and she just started to follow Sam and I.
01:15 So as we were going through the forest,
01:17 all of a sudden we would see Darling coming and flying through
01:20 and finding us in our forest path.
01:22 I don't live in the pages of a fairy tale.
01:25 I live in Canada. [laughs]
01:27 As the sun went down, she would always fly into the forest.
01:30 I never actually knew exactly where she would roost,
01:34 but it was somewhere in our forest.
01:36 Sam, he truly is a very special boy.
01:40 He was a rescue from a shelter in California.
01:43 He is the magician behind all the magic.
01:46 [music]
01:50 It's shocking to me how calm and patient he was with Darling.
01:55 Darling could be a little pesky,
01:57 and she would sometimes pull at his fur, pull at his tail,
02:01 but he just let it all happen.
02:03 [music]
02:07 The following year, we ended up getting a kitten.
02:09 We named Gigi.
02:11 And just like with Darling, he was extremely gentle with Gigi.
02:15 They would play fight, but he was always letting her win.
02:18 So I truly think it's because of Sam that all this has happened.
02:22 Darling would fly down,
02:24 and she started to pick at the end of the leash where the handle was.
02:28 I suppose being pros being observational learners,
02:31 she was watching me always holding Sam's leash,
02:34 and she thought she could do it too.
02:36 [music]
02:38 There was one time I was out walking Sam,
02:41 and a Cooper's hawk came in and started chasing after Darling.
02:46 Sam, who's much faster than I am,
02:48 he was able to get over there quicker to Darling
02:51 and chase the Cooper's hawk away.
02:53 There's another time where Darling did try to help Sam out.
02:57 Sam was chewing on a stick,
02:59 and he ended up getting a bit of the stick lodged in between the roof of his mouth.
03:04 I was trying to pull it out, and Darling came flying over,
03:08 and she landed on Sam's head,
03:10 and she stuck her head in Sam's mouth
03:13 and was pecking at this little piece of wood.
03:16 I couldn't believe it.
03:18 If Sam had burrs or snowballs or any other kind of fluff on his fur,
03:23 she would pick it off and make sure he always looked his best.
03:27 Gigi and Darling started to meet through the window.
03:31 Darling would come tap on the window,
03:33 and Gigi would go to the window,
03:35 and they would sit, and they would interact.
03:37 [music]
03:39 Darling would start preening herself,
03:41 and Gigi would start grooming herself.
03:43 And so I felt that they definitely had a connection.
03:46 They felt very comfortable with each other.
03:48 They loved playing this game where Darling would be hiding in the grass,
03:52 and Gigi would run over, and then they would kind of run away,
03:55 and then Gigi would hide, and Darling would come fly and find her.
03:59 I never considered her a pet.
04:01 She was more of a friend to me.
04:03 She wanted to come in, but I would not let her come in.
04:06 [music]
04:09 She was a wild animal.
04:11 The wild is unpredictable.
04:13 I couldn't always protect her, but she belonged outside.
04:16 [music]
04:20 I did always have this in the back of my mind,
04:22 but I was trying not to dwell on it.
04:25 [whistles]
04:26 Hanging out with Darling was like being in another dimension.
04:30 [music]
04:35 They say that crows have the intelligence of a 7-year-old.
04:39 I think it's well exceeded that of a 7-year-old.
04:43 I don't think humans can comprehend how smart crows actually are.
04:47 I got to witness an amazing behavior where she was collecting snow and piling it up,
04:52 and it almost seemed like she was making a little fort.
04:55 Then she went into this little fort and started having her own little snow bath.
04:59 She did have a lot of fun games.
05:01 My husband would come out with his tea in the morning and go on the deck,
05:04 and she would steal the spoon and the tea bag and want my husband to go chase after her.
05:10 If you were outside writing, she would steal your pen,
05:13 so you would have to go chase after her.
05:15 Although we didn't speak the same language, there was definitely a way that we could communicate.
05:20 [music]
05:22 I've worked with a lot of birds.
05:24 I've worked with hawks and eagles, and I feel they just, like, stare right through you.
05:29 But when I look at Darling, I felt like she was truly looking into my soul,
05:33 like she really could read my thoughts.
05:35 She definitely knew her name.
05:37 Darling.
05:38 If I would call Darling, she would come flying over,
05:41 and I think she would know Sam's name and Gigi's name.
05:44 [music]
05:56 She recognized other people.
05:58 Hello, Sammy. Hello, Darling.
06:00 Me and my husband and my dog and my cat were in her circle of trust
06:04 because she was very particular who she let in.
06:07 She also, you know, if anybody came to our door,
06:10 she would let them know that they were crossing.
06:13 They were on the wrong territory.
06:15 Our poor plumbers never wanted to come over and help us
06:18 because Darling would chase them away.
06:21 And we did have to put up signs that said "territorial crow" in the area
06:25 because she did become very territorial of the property.
06:29 I don't know if Darling was a female.
06:31 With crows, it's hard to tell if they're male or female,
06:36 but we just always tended to say "she,"
06:38 and we kept on calling her "little Darling."
06:41 I should say "they" because I really don't know.
06:44 Her pronouns are "they" because I don't know.
06:47 Her vocalizations were all quite unique.
06:50 There was one where it sounded like she was mimicking a great horned owl.
06:54 [owl hooting]
06:56 I also heard her mimicking my laugh.
06:59 Darling was my alarm clock. There was no days off.
07:02 When they say "early bird," it's true.
07:04 She got up at the crack of dawn.
07:06 [music]
07:17 There were some mornings I definitely would like to sleep in,
07:20 but I did get up and go out with her.
07:23 [music]
07:25 Last November was the most difficult experience I have ever had.
07:29 That morning, she didn't tap on the window,
07:32 and when I went outside, I could hear all the crows' alarm calling.
07:38 [music]
07:46 It was very somber over the next few days,
07:49 and I think Sam and Gigi were grieving in their own way.
07:52 [music]
07:54 Now, whenever Sam and Gigi hear a crow, they run to the window,
07:58 but they'll never be another darling.
08:01 [music]