Lunchtime Expedition: Gifts of the Corvids

Join the Draper Natural History Museum for the March Lunchtime Expedition, when Dr. John Marzluff, Professor Emeritus of Wildlife Science at the University of Washington, discusses his research of ravens, crows, and other Corvids in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in a talk titled Gifts of the Corvids. He’ll share insights into the relationship of these birds with carnivores, especially wolves.

While talks in our Lunchtime Expedition series are not live streamed, they will be recorded and posted to the Draper Museum’s YouTube channel within a couple days after they take place.

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.