Colin came to us in March 2017, after we have been contacted for help and advice by his kind-hearted rescuer. It turned out that Colin was an imprinted unreleasable carrion crow born in spring 2016. He was found as an injured orphaned nestling on the ground after a severe storm, and has been subsequently raised by his own without the company of his own kind.

Imprinting in wild birds is a critical and essential learning process that occurs during a sensitive period shortly after hatching. During this time, a young bird forms a strong attachment to the first moving object it sees, which is usually his or her parent. Interestingly, this attachment helps the bird learn essential survival behaviours, such as recognising its species, following the parent and learning specific feeding techniques.

However, if a hatchling, nestling or fledgling is raised by humans, particularly if it has not had much or no interaction with his or her own species, the bird will develop a close attachment to humans. Additionally, regular feeding and handling by humans does reinforce this attachment, making the bird more dependent on humans and less able to integrate with its own species. This will affect a bird’s ability to find a mate, communicate effectively and survive in the wild.

It was not unexpected that it took Colin quite a while to adjust to us and his new home. Understandably, he missed his previous guardian and carer. We gradually introduced him to new experiences, the outdoor aviary environment and our resident birds. Subsequently, after just a few weeks, Colin began to settle more and more and started to actively join other birds. He especially enjoyed to explore his new home, and in particular the company of carrion crow Pepper. Unsurprisingly, we were very pleased to observe that Pepper also showed a growing interest in the otherwise slightly introverted Colin. Over the following next months both birds developed a deeper and deeper bond and are meanwhile an inseparable bonded pair.