Pauline Suzanne Delahaye and Andrew Mark Creighton
Pauline Delahaye is a Zoosemiotician and post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Tartu, author of, A Semiotic Methodology for Animal Studies[1], and General Secretary for the Société française de Zoosémiotique[2]. In the following interview, Delahaye discusses her current research on corvids, including methodological issues she has encountered, some research findings, and the general research process.
Crow research
Andrew Mark Creighton: Currently you are the principle investigator for the “Living with Liminal Species project”, can you offer a general summary of this project? What are your aims? What (who) are you studying exactly? Where are the locations you are studying, so on?
Pauline Suzanne Delahaye: The project is a comparative study between Tartu and Paris. In both cities, I am studying how inhabitants and liminal species are coexisting. In this project, the focus is on four liminal species from the same family: Corvus cornix (the hooded crow), Corvus corone (the black crow), Corvus frugilegus (the rook), and Coloeus monedula (the jackdaw). The aim is to study their behaviour when interacting with the lives of humans, and the problems that may occur and how we can solve them. A previous study on rats in Paris has shown that problems are sometimes very symbolical or emotional, rather than material, so I am studying more precisely this aspect.
AMC: What are liminal species? Why is it important to study them?
PSD: Liminal species are species that are not wild nor domesticated. They are at the border of human life. Usually, they have a strange relationship with us, because they are quite persecuted, but our productions (our wastes, our buildings, our infrastructures etc.) are essential to their lives. However, even if you have difficulty seeing them as such, they are an important part of biodiversity. Depending on their biology and behaviour, some of them are waste managers (and we would have trouble if they would disappear), some are sentinels (and monitoring them is precious to knowing how polluted a place is), some are insect regulators, and some are bird regulators etc. A city is an ecosystem, these species must be studied like any species, especially since their interactions with humans are so prominent and important.
AMC: What methods are you using to study corvids, and are any specific technologies being used?
PSD: I am studying both corvids and the humans living with them. It requires multiple methods, from field observations of the corvids, to surveys and interviews with the humans. Nobody is doing science on his own nowadays, and I am also helped by researchers in both National Natural History Museums (Le Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, and The University of Tartu Natural History Museum), who have done experiments before or have access to monitoring through GPS devices. Even when you are alone, science is always a team effort.
AMC: What trials have you and Timo Maran[3] faced during the research process? For instance, in your November 2021 Tartu diary entry[4], you make the observation that with the coming winter, your ability to observe the local corvids was reduced due to the darkness concealing them. How did you deal with this and similar situations?
PSD: Timo knows Tartu very well, and he is very aware of the habits of the crows. So when observations became difficult due to weather or because they suddenly change their main spot (which happened during nesting season), he always had an idea of where I should look to find them again. This clearly shows why, in this kind of project, you always need the advice of someone who is local and who knows the place, the people and, in the current project, who knows the language. I am learning Estonian, but not quickly enough, and I needed help exploring some important databases for example. But again, Timo knows the people, and he could clearly each time tell me who to contact to obtain proper help with different aspects.
AMC: In your field diaries, you discuss the July 2022[5] heat wave in Paris and some observations on how the local crows were affected by, and how they dealt with, the high temperatures and sun. For instance, you mention some crows using garden tools (hoses and water systems) to remain cool, while the crows’ comfort with being around humans allowed more opportunities for them to deal with the heat. This was seen in their staying in shaded areas close to humans, and conserving energy by begging for food instead of foraging. How do such comfort and familiarity with humans and their technology develop among crows? Just generally speaking, is this a common trend or does it only appear in more specific, perhaps safer, areas?
PSD: You have to think about the city from the point of view of the crows. We are seeing technology, but that’s our point of view. From a crow’s perspective, a tree and a street lamp grow at the same pace; it makes no difference for them to stand on one or the other. I think that we have a false idea of animals as “natural” beings, which should find everything “artificial” strange or threatening, but these are human categories. For crows, categories are sources of food (trash can or grass), nesting places (tree or roof), sources of water (river or garden hose) etc. It was the same with rats: they are living in sewers, but are not bothered by the fact that sewers are human infrastructure. For the familiarity with humans, I think it is quite simple: crows have long-term memory. If humans are not attacking them (and in Paris or Tartu, most people are indifferent, or amused, or curious, but not hostile), they register us as non-hostile and that is it. Unless a specific situation occurs, of course: you are not hostile, but you are tall for the point of view of a crow, and if you are walking by its chick which fell from the nest, it will defend it from what it perceives as a life-or-death matter.
AMC: What makes a good location for observing the behaviours of corvids? When conducting research, what are the signs that a location can be reliable? In your January 2022 Paris diary entry[6], you note that the Champs de Mars was one of your favourite spots for observations, but during that month, there was only one pair of crows. Does this happen often where large populations of crows find new locations to settle? What may cause such a transition?
PSD: A good spot is a spot where crows want to live. That means plenty of food, places that are relatively quiet, tall trees or places to be safe, and probably a bunch of other things we don’t know but are important from their point of view. Usually, that means public gardens or suburban areas, it can also mean big cemeteries, if there are a lot of trees. For the Champs de Mars, it was indeed quite a shock. We don’t know exactly what happened to the flock, but with Frédéric Jiguet of the MNHN, we have a hypothesis that, during the first lockdown of Paris due to the Covid pandemic, there was a brutal drop in the quantity of food available in this very touristic area—food brought by human beings, of course. But the flock at the Champs de Mars was in its majority composed of young individuals with very little experience, and they did not know how to feed from just the grass or buds. So they probably died, or flew into the countryside. The pair remaining was an adult one, with much experience, who knew how to feed without human resources. This summer, I observed their younglings, meaning that they had a successful nesting season so they are in good shape. But the sudden disappearance of such a big number of individuals is indeed rare.
AMC: In the September 2022 Tartu diary entry[7], you mention corvids dealing with some aggressive gulls. How do corvids generally behave with gulls and other birds, or even pets and other liminal species?
PSD: Corvids are bold animals, but they are not suicidal. They are able to distinguish quite accurately against which species they stand a chance from the others. They are opportunistic, so if they can kill small chicks of other birds, they will do so, if they can eat an entire nest of eggs, they will, but they are aware that other animals would like to do the same, and they will defend their own younglings if needed. But besides need or opportunity, they do not pick a fight without a good reason. In nature, fighting for nothing is very costly, as it exposes you to injuries. Some animals make their survival tactic out of over-aggressivity (like honey badgers or Adelie penguins) but it is not the case for crows. And for pets, in the diary I have noted multiple occurrences of corvids foraging on the ground when dogs are passing by, without any signs of stress. It won’t be the same with cats, obviously, even if cats are very aware of how dangerous corvid beaks and claws can be.
General questions:
AMC: Do you have any other comments to make, things to promote, etc.?
PSD: If you are interested by my project’s topic (or if you just want to give a hand to science), please answer the survey currently on the blog (especially if you are Estonian speaker!) The survey can be found here:
While more information on the “Living with Liminal Species project” can be found on its website:
[1] Delahaye, Pauline S. 2019. A Semiotic Methodology for Animal Studies. Cham: Springer Nature.
[2]More information about the Société française de Zoosémiotique can be found here: https://societefrancaisedezoosemiotique.fr/
[3] Timo Maran is the a Zoosemiotician and the head of the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu
[4] For the November 2021 entry, please visit the online diary here: https://www.crows.ut.ee/field-observations/tartu-november-2021/
[5] For the diary entry on the July heat wave in Paris: https://www.crows.ut.ee/field-observations/paris-july-2022/
[6] For the 2022 January entry: https://www.crows.ut.ee/field-observations/paris-january-2022/
[7] September 2022 Tartu diary entry: https://www.crows.ut.ee/field-observations/tartu-september-2022-2/
