Note to Self: In springtime, the female Crows start using a call "Waku". At first I thought Fig was mimicking my Wanna go for a "walk"? But, I have since observed other birds using this call in a few different instances. I think it might be a young female's call, meaning something like I'm feeling flirty. I just don't know, but Fig is saying this to me in place of How, the usual greeting for friend. So far I have only heard this call in the late afternoon. It has the same timber, and character of a friendly greeting with a bit higher stress to the pitch, and perhaps a little songyness to it.
As a "teacher" of English, it is indeed pretty frustrating, coming home every day to a cat who successfully navigates life with a drastically limited, though admittedly, effective vocamewlary. So, it is with Fig, as well, with her vocawbulary.
I cannot list her various natural utterances in their entirety off the top of my head. Nor can I state with certainty what each and every one of her marvelous vocalizations means, or intends to mean. But one thing is increasingly apparent to me, Fig manages to get through the majority of her day, with a very limited number of calls, which more and more, feel like words, phrases, and sentences to me.
I shall try to list them here. Let's see...
1. Awa Awa- water please, bath please, I see water, let's run a bath, where's my water, I would love for you to wash my face (this is her favorite thing in the world, next to cuddling in my jacket).
2. Hawa Hawa (Huh-wah) - food please, I see food, let's eat, how about some food, where's the food bub? This is used as a common greeting in a similar fashion as human English, "Let's do lunch!" or "We gotta do lunch sometime!" is used to say both, Hello, and Goodbye. It expresses respect, but in sort of an obligatory sort of a way.
3. Hau Hau Hau (How) - Friend. Happy. Glad. I want to do that! Hooray! Overjoyed! Yippee! Glad to see you!
4. Aaa-Aaa - I love you. You rock! You are my best friend! I am so happy you are here darling!
5. Ha! Ha! Ha! (rapid)- Danger! Something scary! What the hell is that? Watch out! Heads up! Protect me! I am scared out of my wits! Someone left an item of black clothing in the bathroom!!! I see you cat!
6. Ha! Ha! (sharp, punctuated projecting, and deliberate) - I see an incoming Crow. I see you. I am announcing my presence under FAA rules. Here is me, Fig! Don't mess with me. I may have a black belt in karate. I have announced myself, let's be cool, but be wary, I'm no sissy.
7. Errr Errrr - (softly uttered in close proximity) You are the best! Thank you so much. Seriously, you make my day. Will you be my valentine? I could kiss you!
8. Arrrr!!! (Tiger Growl) - No. Seriously, back off!!! Don't touch me!! I will bite you! (though she won't really bite hard in earnest, she does mean to say, NO! Don't touch, or I don't want to do that now. She will play growl too, like dogs do, though she tends to be more leaning towards serious than a dog fighting for a rope, say, and it is important to respect her communication, because a bird is NOT a dog. In short, Fig understands what teasing is, or taunting, and she enjoys a limited bit of play fighting, like dogs do when the mood strikes her, but the difference is, most dogs will play more gently because the balance of power is much more in their favor, so it is best to limit teasing or taunting birds, or not to do it at all, and not to engage in actual physical contact if you do want to play, because for a bird, that is crossing a line from play, to actual fighting. Fig snaps from play growling to lovey dovey affection in an instant, because she knows it is play, and that I am not going to escalate it beyond growling at each other from a distance. I think it is the handlers call, but if the bird does not appear to "get" what your intentions are, then just avoid the communication all together, of you could encourage aggression.
9. Gronk jack hammer kekekekekekekekekek (garglinrg) -
AAAAA jack hammer kekekekkekekkkekeke (gargling) - Ooh baby, I love your wa-ay, every da-ay! This is the mother of all "I love you's" Comes with loads of blinking, neck stretching, tail lowering, and passion.
10. Auka Auka Auka? (Ah-ooh-ka) This is a question. Any friendlies around? Calling all friendlies. Hello? Anyone out there? Announce yourself. (Crow social media). Anyone wanna chat with me? I'm in a good mood. Let's chat. Come here. Come talk to me. Where are you at? Whatcha doing? Let's do coffee some time...how about right now?
11. Mumble grumble err chatter mutter mutter (Talking to oneself) Screwy friggin' world. Jeez what a day. Man, I seriously need to get a life.
12. Huwuk Hwuk Hwuk. HAWK!!! Sometimes this call is used as "a lie" by the wild Crows. I think they are using a serious word, to evoke a reaction, flush out hide and seekers, or some other playful thing. Life is a game of tag when you're a Crow. It is a clever tactic, but difficult to caw convincingly when no Hawk is truly around. It's like kids on the playground yelling, Watch out! or Behing you!
I suspect it may also be used to say "Look out ABOVE!" which seems a useful statement for a flying critter to have in it's vocabulary, but it just a humble guess at this point in time, based on very few observations.
13. There are many more sounds, but I feel the top 12 are represented above. I have no idea if what I have observed is accurate at all, but this is the picture coming into view gradually over time to me anyway.
14. Gwah Gwah Gwah. Anxiety! I did not like that! What the hell! You suck!
Wanted to list this in my top 12, but couldn't quite squeeze it in becaue Fig hardly says this anymore. She lives a life of low stress, and luxury, fondly fawned upon like the princess I feel she is. Gwah is usually coming at me in past tense. If I take Fig in an unfamiliar room, out of her comfort zone, to watch TV, or to read a bedtime story with my son in the low light, in my ever ongoing efforts to expand her social borders and opportunities, she is too polite to complain. Upon returning her to her usual space, however, she may assail me with a string of resounding Gwahs. Or if I come home late, or after sun down, then I'll catch an earful of Gwahs. She is too polite to complain at the dinner party, but take her home, and I find out just what a lame date I really was. It's the story of my life. Gwah is definitely the Crow equivalent of WTF, or something like that.
So to review:
Food. Water. Bath.
Friend. Unknown. Threat.
Thank you. I love you. You royally pissed me off.
Anyone wanna chat? What a day.
When you throw in pitch, volume, and repetition frequency you get a pretty complete communication set:
Hungry. Very Hungry. Damn hungry.
Thirsty. Very thirsty. Damn thirsty.
Want a bath. Really want a bath. Give me a big bowl of water, right now!
I'm friendly. I'm friendly if you are. I'm not friendly at all.
I don't want to fight. Pick a fight if you dare. Feathers are gonna fly MF!
Thank you/Yes, please. No thank you.
I like you. I love you. I am friggin' in love with your ass; I mean, I got it bad baby.
I'm just chillin' by my lonesome. What's up? Let's party.
Yo, DANGER!!!
A fun experiment idea?
You might try going an hour, or a day, limiting your vocabulary to a dozen select words, or grunts, varying only the pitch, repetition frequency, and volume to see how it feels. Try it at work. Try it with your kids. Heck, get out and try it on some Crows! Ha!
A few examples of Fig's communication:
In the morning. I bring Fig into the shower room with me. Once perched she feels happy to see me so she greets me with soft Err Errrrs to demonstrate her cheerful mood. Then she bursts out with Aa Aa-
a full fledged, I love you. Then she gives me a long AAA----kekekekek, the full on I'm in love with you. Then in English she'll say "I love you." a few times while pacing a bit. Then when it is her turn to come down to sit on my knee for her shower and face wash, she says a hearty Hau Hau Hau which means, Hooray!!!! Time for my spa treatment massage, my favorite!
In the afternoon. I get home and bring Fig inside. Once perched she assails me with up to a minute or two of continuous Hwah Hawa Hwah (usually in sets of three) which is to say, did you bring me some food? Where's the grub? How about something tasty? She starts in like this weather she is hungry or not (usually not) because she associates me with food very strongly, plus she knows that I usually bring her home some esspecially tasty, out of the ordinary fare item from my own lunch. So this call is almost always first. Once she has made her point about food, she then has a look around for any black clothing, or the cat. She will almost always locate the cat, but black clothing items are more mysterious, less common and less consistent, so they illicite a much stronger response. Ha! Ha! Ha! (3-5 yells) Danger! I see you cat! Why is that black sock on the floor! Once she gets food and calms down, she goes into Errr errr, Aa- Aa-, AA-kekekekek, Gronk, kekekekekek I love you. Love you. Then, preens.
At the park. Fig's family will show up in the skies in the afternoon. Her mother and father, or her siblings. Her mother is most aware of who Fig is. She seems to know even after two years apart that Fig is her child. The father is not interested in Fig, and flies "two steps behind" his wife, though he has come to sit next to and talk to very affectionately to Fig on a few different occassions. During the nesting season though, he become extremely territorial, and viciously aggressive and regards Fig as an outsider, so he has, and he will attack her if I do not stay close. Her siblings take an interest, and will circle overhead for some time, congregating, but not taking too serious an interest. Fig will issue some very strong, confident Ha! Ha! Ha! calls which I take to mean, I see you. Please take note of my presence. This call is neutral, which means I am not threatening, but also confident which implies, don't mess with me. Fights never ensue, but Fig's father will enlist siblings in ambush. Now, if I change things a bit, put Fig in an uncomfortable place, off perch say, on the ground, where she feels more vulnerable, and she dashes for a perching spot, then she also calls out Ha! Ha! Ha! but in a higher, stressed tone in the presence of circling Crows. This either means, Help me Matt! or Help me Crows! I have no idea if she feels she needs saving from me, or saving from the crows. It is hard to say. Her desire to take to the skies is very strong, so I suspect she is seeking help from the Crows to take flight, and that she sees her tethers as the thing preventing her from flying. It is not a slight to me, rather, she is expressing her desire to fly, and she seems to think that the other Crows may have some advice, or assistance to give. I wish they did.
I do not yet fully understand everything Fig says, though I wish I could. Writing about it is one way for me to review in my mind what I am observing, and it keeps me pondering.
Here is one example of an instance that I could not understand.
My son enjoys having his evening shower with Fig. And Fig enjoys her time with him, too. If she did not, she would ask to come out, and refuse to go into the shower. But, my son is only eight years old, so he is not always a perfect angel when it comes to animals. He likes to play with the cap from my shaving cream, and the other day, he decided to show it to Fig to see if she would peck it. She did peck it, but she also was afraid of a foreign object coming close to her, so she said she wanted out, and I removed her from the shower. Now, when I say she said she wanted out, what I mean is that I checked on her in the shower, and observed that she was slightly stressed. I asked my son why, and he explained that he had shown Fig the cup, and that she had pecked it. At that point I asked Fig with a gesture, do you want out, at which point she gestured, yes, by extending her neck, and leaning out towards me. I simply offered my arm and out she leapt. Now, my son was rather upset that I "took" Fig out of the shower, but I explained that Fig said she wanted out because the cup frightened her, so I would have a chat with her and see if she would agree to go back in. He found this reasonable. So, I closed the door and talked to Fig, or rather, she talked to me. She said, Awa Awa Awa over and over. Hmm. She is saying bath or water? Maybe she is setting the context of her complaint? Do go on. Then she launched into a long string of Auka Auka Aukas while switching her gaze from the bathroom door to me. She only seemed mildly stressed, but I could not understand what the Aukas were meant to say. It sort of seemed like she might have been talking to my son through the door. On the other hand, I thought she might be complaining to me about my son. I opened the shower room door, and asked Fig if she would like to go back in. She flat refused. I talked to my son, who wanted Fig to come back, and I told him that Fig does not want to go back because the green cup frightened her, so please don't show her unfamiliar things. He agreed. Fig and I had a bit more chat about things, and she calmed down a bit, and said a few more Auka Aukas. The best guess I have is that the call Auka serves a dual function. To inquire, and to express uncertainty, or a state of uncertainty which I guess are somewhat related. So maybe Fig was talking to my son through the door. Are you going to be nice? Then talking to me. I don't like what he did! That made me feel scared! This is my best interpretation in any case. Anyway, Fig decided to go back into the shower room soon after this with my son without further incident. I have to constantly remind myself that a child's "misbehavior" is actually inquiry, and experimentation, which is something to be encouraged and praised. I also have to remind myself that Fig, while she is now two, and an "adult" bird, still has a very child-like mind. So, upon further reflection, perhaps she was just talking to me, saying, "Hey, where is MY shower? (Awa Awa Awa!!!)" and "Are you my friend or aren't you? (Auka Auka Auka???)" A shower and face wash are after all her favorite thing in the world. She's practically a duck.
Notes: There is something interesting about bird communication vs. human communication in that much of bird communication is designed to happen only by way of the ears, whereas human communication, to a larger degree, takes part in conjunction with bodily and facial gestures. I also am aware that since Fig cannot fly, I miss a whole realm and dimension of calling which only comes into play in this dynamic activity during which play, fighting, decision making, signaling, discussion, and a whole 'nother world of communicative possibilities opens up. So, to be a better Crow parent, I really must make more effort to expose Fig to wild Crows, and to pay careful attention to their interactions myself.
Experiments: I am intrigued by the idea that Fig may have been talking to me about the past, and or about something in another room. I will try placing an object that stresses her a little in her comfort zone, her usual space, to recreate a similar situation as with my son in the shower room showing her a "scary" unfamiliar cup. Then I will remove her from the shower room, and see if her communication is consistent with that scenario.
(Below are the same calls explained again in a different order, with some additional comments or details.)
Needs:
1. Caw Caw Caw This is the
call everyone associates with Crows. But actually it’s closer to Haw Haw Haw. If
we slow this down a bit, and watch the beak, we can see that it is actually
closer to Ha wa Ha wa – It means food. I see food. I’m starving. Let's eat. How
about some grub? And it’s used as a general greeting in similar fashion that
humans might say hello, or goodbye by saying, “Let’s do lunch!”
It appears to me that a family of Crows uses this call in similar fashion to
humans at home. You hungry? Naw, I’m good. (Later) I’m feeling a bit peckish,
you? Yeah, I could do with something to eat soon. (Later) I’m starving let’s eat.
Me too. What’s good? There appears to be constant chatter about hunger, and
status updates on fridge contents, and when consensus is reached a group
decision is made to act.
(Tangential Side Note: Another interesting thing is how the Japanese Crow’s
language is sometimes similar to human Japanese, by coincidence? In Japanese, the subject of a sentence is
introduced thus, Kyou wa…(As for today…) Watashi wa…(As for me…). Likewise in
the Crow’s call uses wa, Hawa (As for food…). It is further interesting that Ha
is Japanese for tooth! I am no linguist, but I find these comparisons intriguing
to think about.)
2. Awa Awa- I’m thirsty. Let’s hava a bath. I see water. I hear water. It’s
raining. Look a river!
Again comparing this to human Japanese, the word for river is Kawa. It is
further interesting perhaps that the second need after food, is also ending in
wa, (As for water…)
Manners:
3. Errr Errrr – Thank you. Aw gee. (Chattering)
4. Nibble – No thanks.
Love:
Aaa-Aaa
- I like you.
6. Gronk jack hammer kekekekekekekekekek (garglinrg) –
AAAAA jack hammer kekekekkekekkkekeke (gargling) –
I love you! This comes with loads of passionate blinking. (Let’s light the
candles.)
Greetings:
7. (Friends) Auka Auka Auka? Amazingly, this is literally Japanese for “Shall
we meet?” Any friends around? Anyone wanna chat? Wanna play?
8. (Strangers) Ha--! Ha--! – I see you. Take note of my presence. (Neutral) The
pitch tends to be straight, not urgent, not threat related.
Danger:
9.
Ha! Ha! Ha! (Ah! Ah!) (rapid)- Danger (below)! Cat! (This call radiates out. The closest
Crow with first hand observation expresses more urgency. The further Crows with
second hand, and third hand knowledge goes down in urgency.) So a Crow say, 50
meters away, high up in a tree, may only say Ha--! once.) This call can be
mixed with urgency, or anger. So, this call can be easily confused with no.8
but the pitch tends to go up.
10. Huwuk Hwuk Hwuk. – Danger (above) Hawk!!! Or maybe, something scary/
threatening above, incoming? I often see Crows lie about this to gain an edge. Just as children on the playground yell, Look, Mrs. Crabapple, right behind you! before dashing away from friends in a game of tag, Crows use the Hawk! Hawk! call to gain a one second advantage.
11. Arrr!!! (Tiger Growl) - No. Seriously, back off.
Mood:
12Hau Hau Hau - Hooray! Yippee! Friend!!!
13. (Muttering) Mumble grumble (Muttering) mutter (Talking to oneself) Screwy
friggin' world. Jeez what a day. Man, I seriously need to get a life.
14. Gwah Gwah
Gwah. I did not like that! I’m upset.
15.
Crying. (strained wimper) Expresses deep happiness, and sadness, both, but the saddness is much more pronounced.
