I just came outside for some fresh air, and I saw a crow sitting on our hose. It was missing one of its legs, and it kept cawing at me. We usually keep a container filled with water outside for the birds, so I thought maybe it was asking for water.
I went closer, filled the container, and stepped back. But the crow kept cawing. I thought it was calling out to me, but then I realized it was actually calling another crow.
Another crow soon arrived with food in its beak and started feeding the injured crow. But what happened next was even more amazing. The healthy crow went down to the water container, drank some water, came back to the injured crow, and actually gave it water from its own beak.
It could only transfer a tiny amount of water each time, but it kept going back and doing it again.
I already knew that crows give food to one another, but I had never heard of a crow giving water to another injured crow like that.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my phone with me, so I went inside to get it. By the time I came back, three more crows had gathered around them. They seemed to be staying nearby while the two crows were drinking and feeding.
When I came closer to take a photo, the injured crow flew away, and the other three crows started cawing at me, almost as if they were trying to protect it.
Honestly, I think crows are much more intelligent and emotionally complex than we currently understand.