A crow rides atop a flying bald eagle, “as if it was taking a free scenic ride.” Photo: Phoo Chan/Media Drum World, used with permission
Phoo Chan was photographing a bald
eagle hunting for food in Seabeck, Washington, when something very curious and
highly unusual happened: A crow approached the flying bald eagle from behind,
landed on its back and hitched a free ride.
Being in the right place at the
right time, Chan managed to click off a series of once-in-a-lifetime photos of
the rare event in nature.
“At first I thought the crow was
going to chase away the eagle,” Chan told Daily Mail. “I
have seen crows harassing a hawk by swooping back and forth in order to drive
it away from their territory. I was completely awed to see the crow actually
land on the back of the flying eagle.
“It was as if it was taking a short
break and at the same time a free ride.
“What’s more surprising was the
eagle didn’t seem to mind and kept flying as if nothing happened.”
The crow approached the bald eagle
from behind and took up a position atop its back. Photo: Phoo
Chan/Media Drum World, used with permission
Chan, an amateur bird photographer
from Fremont, California, has had some of his work featured in National
Geographic, and it would be surprising if the series of photos he took of the
crow landing and hitching a ride on the back of a bald eagle don’t get NatGeo’s
attention, too.
The common theory as to why crows
harass bald eagles and hawks is that they are defending their territory and/or
protecting their nest from a predator.
So why do eagles and hawks put up
with an annoying crow when if they’d just grab it with their talons that would
be the end of the crow?
Ornithologists told a researcher at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
that though large raptors have the necessary weapons, the energy cost of
pursuing and catching the crow is normally not worth it.
In this case, the bald eagle simply
put up with the crow.
Bird photographer Phoo Chan was in
the first place at the right time to capture the moment a crow took a ride atop
a bald eagle in flight. Photo: Phoo Chan/Media Drum World,
used with permission
“The crow did not seem to harass the
bald eagle at such close proximity and neither did the bald eagle seem to mind
the crow’s presence invading its personal space,” Chan explained to Bored Panda,
adding that it was as if the crow “was taking a free scenic ride and the eagle
simply obliged.”
Chan told Daily Mail he
believed the crow decided to land on the bald eagle because it didn’t respond
to its harassment.
“Eventually the crow flew away and
the eagle continued to hunt for its breakfast,” he said. “They both flew in
different directions and it looked like they became friends.”
GrindTV
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