Researchers shocked to witness how crows sometimes try to have sex with dead birds

Different species have their own behavioural patterns and at times it’s fascinating to see. But sometimes actions of certain creatures can turn out to be strange to the extent of being shocking.

Crows are known for gathering around their dead and screeching alarm calls which are thought of as funerals. But researchers witnessed something bizarre about the ritual as they found that sometimes the birds even try to have sex with the dead body.

Previous studies to understand the ritual hypothesised that the alarm calls are meant to warn others about potential danger. The researchers saw that one crow noticed a dead one under a tree and instead of giving alarm calls; it approached the body and mounted it in an unmistakable way.

They conducted more experiments and found that crows touch and even copulate with dead crows. The sexual behaviour is thought to have something to do with the onset of breeding season.