Why Would A Crow Ride an Eagle?

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a….crow on the back of a Bald Eagle? The strange aerial encounter, caught on camera by bird photographer Phoo Chan about a year ago, is making the rounds online today, to the delight of many.

So what exactly is going on here? Was the crow just tired of flying, or was it intentionally trying to annoy its adversary?

It’s hard to tell, says Audubon field editor Kenn Kaufman. While it is not uncommon for smaller birds to harass larger birds that threaten their nesting territories, physically riding on their backs is an unusual tactic—and definitely an unusual sight.

Crows, along with other kinds of smaller birds such as Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and kingbirds, will not hesitate to defend their nests against eagles, hawks, vultures and Great Blue Herons if duty calls, especially during the nesting season, says Kaufman.

Typically when something like this happens “the eagle or other large bird being harassed will react in an aggressive way,” Kaufman says. Or, the larger bird will ignore its tormentor, “just as we might ignore a small dog yipping at our heels,” adds Kaufman—which very well may be what was happening in this photomontage.

Whether an innocent play-date or a moment of vindication, it is hard to deny Chan’s luck in capturing the remarkable occurrence on camera. The California-based photographer has plenty of experience capturing flying birds, so he must have been well-prepared.  

And good thing, too—according to Kaufman, the encounter likely lasted just a few seconds.