Catch of the Day

I'm slowly working my way through In the Company of Crows and Ravens by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell.  One of the Corvids outlined was the New Caledonian Crow.  This crow is capable of tool use as well as solving multi-step puzzles to get to tasty morsel.  Its passed a number of sophisticated cognitive tests which suggest it's particularly intelligent.

The New Caledonian Crow isn't the only one.  The Green Heron is also a tool user.  The Green Heron is an accomplished fisherman, perching motionless on the bank or a branch, ready to grab a fish by striking out with their long necks.   You can imagine it much like a snake strike.  What makes them amazing fisherman is their use of bait as a tool.  They'll put the bait (food or an object) in the water and wait for a fish to appear.  They won't wait too long, they'll reposition the bait much like someone casting his line over and over again.

So my most recently completed piece was of a Green Heron.  It's called "Spying the Catch of the Day" and you can image he's just placed the bait and is patiently waiting for his catch of the day.  It's acrylic on a 6 X 8 canvas panel.  It's available for purchase using my available gallery gadget at the upper right.