# What's big, black, flies, and goes 'CHEEEEP! CHEEEEP!'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692 "2012-05-12T15:04:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/1 "2012-05-12T15:04:44Z")
A crow. With a sparrow in its beak. The other day I was walking in the city when a crow flew by. The sound I heard was ‘_Cheeeeep! Cheeeeeep!_’ I thought that was an odd sound for a crow to make, but I thought it might just be happy since it had some scrap of food in its beak. When it landed on an awning across the street I saw that the ‘scrap of food’ was a sparrow. It took a couple of seconds for the crow to kill it, and it was soon silenced. The crow had its meal. I knew crows are omnivorous. I often see them eating invertebrates and carrion. It never occurred to me, since there’s so much easier food about, that they were also hunters of larger game. Belltown: The Wild Kingdom. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/2 "2012-05-12T15:06:19Z")
If it flies right up inside a chicken, you have Thanksgiving dinner! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/3 "2012-05-12T15:38:34Z")
buh buh buh buhhhhhh _buh!_ Buh buh buh baaa ba ba ba-ba-_ba!_… (Old school National Geographic theme.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/4 "2012-05-12T16:01:27Z")
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta eat. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/5 "2012-05-12T16:45:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Belltown: The Wild Kingdom. In Belltown, has the going gotten narrow? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/6 "2012-05-12T17:25:58Z")
Well, that was a trapeze act. I had to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/7 "2012-05-12T18:54:29Z")
About a month ago, I was driving along and there were a line of small birds on a power line; I was stopped at a traffic light and happened to look up just as a crow swooped down and plucked one off in a flurry of feathers and flew off with it. Until that moment, I didn’t know crows were active hunters either. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/8 "2012-05-12T19:31:07Z")
I saw a crow flying along with a snake in its beak once. The snake wasn’t saying anything, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/9 "2012-05-12T19:33:26Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > I saw a crow flying along with a snake in its beak once. The snake wasn’t saying anything, IIRC. “The apple, you fool! I said eat the _apple!_” ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/10 "2012-05-12T23:55:57Z")
My carnivorous bird story: I used to be a member of my local community garden. We had Guinea pigs to eat scarps and produce manure (and because they are cute). One day I picked up an armful of hay to put in their cage and a mouse dropped out of the hay and onto my boot. The little mousey was a bit stunned (as was I) and it sat not moving for a couple of seconds. Suddenly a kookaburra swooped down from the trees,landed on my other boot, grabbed the mouse in it’s beak and flew away. The Mouse made the sadest sounding sqeeeeeeeeeeck as it was grabbed. This all happened in seconds with me standing there with hay in my arms going wtf just happened ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/11 "2012-05-13T00:25:23Z")
We have a courtyard outside our office window with a couple of large trees, some grass, and a large area filled with jasmine. One day, I noticed a crow sitting in the tree with something in it’s beak. It tried to readjust its hold, and dropped what it was carrying. A baby bunny. The baby seemed stunned when it fell but hid in the jasmine. The crow and a few of its friends hung around for awhile, peering down trying to find the bunny. Until the bunny hopped out of the jasmine. Then _swoop_ the crow grabbed the bunny again and flew away. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/12 "2012-05-13T01:20:17Z")
Urban wilderness tales, love it. A couple of years ago I saw a falcon being chased by a small murder of crows. It had a dead crow in it’s talons, and flew steadily in large circles gaining altitude the whole time. The crows eventually gave up the chase. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/13 "2012-05-13T01:35:47Z")
A newly hatched bison chick? Oh, darn, I just noticed the OP wasn’t a riddle. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/14 "2012-05-13T02:02:19Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/15 "2012-05-13T03:17:28Z")
Suge Knight inarticulately purchasing coach tickets. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/16 "2012-05-13T08:39:34Z")
All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them eat each other. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/17 "2012-05-13T08:59:16Z")
Pelicans prey on and eat pigeons, swallowing them whole. There are a few videos on YouTube, but I’m not going to link to any because they aren’t for those of us with squeamish stomachs. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/18 "2012-05-13T19:27:38Z")
Our crows were once seen tormenting a squirrel on the fence until he fell, then they ate him. I miss our crows. The new ones may be immune to West Nile, but they aren’t as funny. ☹ ETA: And they aren’t around enough so the robins are getting uppity. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/19 "2012-05-13T19:40:48Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Suge Knight inarticulately purchasing coach tickets. That’s what I was going for. I’m glad I deleted mine, you did it better. ---
**Author:** ![D-bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@D-bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D-bear)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692/20 "2012-05-14T02:46:20Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > A newly hatched bison chick? > > Oh, darn, I just noticed the OP wasn’t a riddle. Never mind. Star Jones on her honeymoon? Whoops, Napier… You weren’t the only one. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-big-black-flies-and-goes-cheeeep-cheeeep/621692.md?page=2)