Hunger Strikes

Some opportunistic birds in the arid Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park have learnt to take advantage of other birds congregating at waterholes.

- Ed Alexander

During a visit to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in 2016 I paid little attention to a Cape Crow pacing the rockery at the 13th waterhole. Red-headed Finches flocked to the water, darting over the crow’s head. Then the corvid snapped at a finch in close proximity. This piqued my interest and I watched as the finches swirled past in another swoop. The crow lunged, scattering the finches. A second crow joined the first and together they made half-hearted leaps in their attempts to capture the finches; between these efforts they bowed and gurgled to each other in a strangely tender display.

That morning both crows caught two birds. They leapt up, often vertically, and seized the small, fluttering finches around the neck, but neither crow appeared to be doing anything more than chasing the finches from the waterhole. I was attempting to photograph the crows’ acrobatic manoeuvres and my finger was already on the shutter when one of the crows darted sideways. I held the camera shutter down, hoping I’d get a half-decent action shot, and only realised what had occurred when the crow pinned the finch down and began plucking it.