In this post, I have a riddle for you. Here is the setup. We routinely put food out on the ground for the birds, although lots of other creatures stop by for a snack. These include squirrels, chipmunks, deer, raccoons and opossums. Here of late, however, we have had some crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos} that occasionly stop by to see what is one the menu.

Here are two crows in a tree overlooking the feeding site on the ground outside our kitchen.

Now Joyce usually puts out a mixture of kernel corn, black oil sunflower seeds, and a mix of small seeds, which is mainly for sparrows and other small ground-feeding birds.

One day, however, we had some French fries left over from lunch. We knew the raccoons and opossums would eat them overnight, but we wondered what the crows would prefer.

So the crows now had four choices, three “natural” foods, and the decidedly unnatural French fries. Now we live out in the country, about 15 miles from any place that serves French fries, so it seems unlikely that our crows would have ever seen fries before. We carefully spread the various treats out under the trees in our customary feeding place.

What did they prefer?

Well, this photograph shows a hint. Immediately after landing the first crow went single-mindedly after the French fries.

When it had accumulated a beak full, it flew away. The next crow (or possibly the same one returning) did the same thing. So much for health food and crows.