What a handsome bird

So, a present at Christmas, a serenade on my birthday and frolics on New Year's Day.

In the rather superb Hollow Kingdom, crow ST is passionate about Cheetos. I figured that the UK variant, Wotsits, might be worth a try. I duly purchased a bag.

I threw one to the Driveway Four, rather expecting that their neophobia would prevent them from eating anything at all near it - these things are like huge orange caterpillars. But one of then nabbed it and flew off.

Heartened, I went off to see CD.

He seemed confused by it. He knew it tasted good, because he pecked off crumbs, but couldn't work out how to eat it. He tried flying up and dropping it a few times, but that didn't help. At last he got brutal and pecked at it.

I gave him another which he buried. It took a lot of burying.

Then he walked around me making a new noise. Again the neck was arched, beak tucked into chest, but now he sort of clucked. It wasn't the rattle that I have heard before, but a hard and deep cleck, cleck, cleck. I was laughing and telling him he was a clever crow and then he did the coo and I threw cat food for him.

See here the arched neck.

It's very different from the cawing stance.

Anyway, this all suggested that the Wotsis were a hit. And with the seagulls too. They get excited when I throw peanuts but then just look at them and turn up their beaks. These orange things, though, oh yeah, they were attractive.

I left two for the Brave Three. I thought Droopy and Three would be too scared. Three was and could only eat the cat food farthest away from the Wotsits. Droopy was interested, but didn't take one until CD picked up his. As soon as she had, poor old Three wanted some. Droopy laid hers aside to eat some suet and Three tried to creep behind her and steal it, but she was wise to him and told him off. Then the seagulls launched in. They wanted the Wotsits.

For the first time, the crows seemed wary of the seagulls. Droopy flew off with her Wotsit. and Three followed her. CD was left with the gulls. The huge Wotsit was in his beak and the seagulls flew at him. At first, he was evading them and simultaneously trying to protect the cat food on the grass. But then something changed.

He teased the seagulls - he flew at them with the Wotsit temptingly orange in his black beak and then whipped away, up or down or aside when they attempted to pick-beak it. It was so funny to watch. He was playing with them! They are faster, I think, but he is agile and clever.

I felt sorry for the gulls and tried to throw a Wotsit, but the dog got there first. I tried to throw another but the wind blew it. I spun around and Divo, whom I'd been calling only moments earlier and hadn't seen, was there behind me with the Wotsit in his beak and a satisfied glint in his eye.

I turned back to CD who was flying off but gave a final show of his superiority over the seagulls - he dropped the Wotsit in midair and caught it again six feet off the ground before flapping off to eat his prize on the roof of the football club.