Crows are mysterious creatures, but it appears they lose some of their intrigue when they adopt a northern accent.
North Yorkshire, to be exact. The crow in question was filmed at Knaresborough Castle, North Yorkshire earlier in June, and it’s quite the charmer.
“Are you alright, love?” the crow asks. Not bad thanks, crow. Yourself?
The video was filmed by triplets Ann, Clair and Britt Chadwick, all 44 years old, who came across this very local crow during a break from the nine-to-five.
“We all live in neighbouring Harrogate and fancied a break from work,” Ann told the Press Association.
“We were actually busy eating our sandwiches, probably a bit flat from work, when it just piped up: ‘are you alright, love?’ I kind of did a double take, then we spoke back to it and it kept repeating that phrase.”
The crow was apparently tethered by a woman at the castle who explained that the bird mimics, with Ann saying there is another crow that says: “What are you looking at?” when people attempt to photograph it.
An RSPB spokeswoman said: “The bird in the video is not actually native to the UK – it is a pied crow which are found throughout Africa.
“Parrots and budgies are well known for mimicking human speech but other types of birds can learn basic words and phrases.
“This is especially so for the corvids (the family of birds which includes rooks, crows and ravens) – these are extremely intelligent animals which can problem solve and use simple tools.
“A crow kept as a pet will easily pick up phrases that it hears often – and the accent will most likely come from its owner.”
So there you have it. Which accent would be the most hilarious to hear from a crow? Only time will tell.
