Clever Corvids

We have a walnut tree in the back garden and it’s that time of the year when the walnuts in their green casings are ripe for the picking.

I was out walking the dog this week along a nearby road that is lined by oak trees. The acorns are beginning to fall, so the road is covered with acorns that have been flattened by passing vehicles. I noticed that in among the acorns, there was also the occasional squashed walnut.

The road is at least 100 metres away from the walnut tree so the question arises: how did they get there? The answer is almost certainly that at least one of the local crow population has worked out that the way to get at the walnut encased in its shell and casing is to drop it on the road and wait for a passing car to break it open…