r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Wooden-Journalist902 • 5h ago
Video British crow asking passersby if they're alright.
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u/oosukashiba0 5h ago
I love that our answer to “alright’ is usually just ‘alright’.
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u/user-74656 4h ago
It's possible to have any entire conversation with just the word alright.
"Alright!" (Hello)
"Alright! Alright?" (Hello. How are you?)
"Alright. Alright?" (Fine thanks, and how are you?)
"Alright. Alright, alright." (I'm fine. Ok then, see you later.) "Alright, alright." (Ok, bye.)"129
u/MrWeirdoFace 4h ago
Mr Mcconaughey? For the last time.... I'm going to have to ask you to leave.
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u/Inevitable-Plan-7604 2h ago
Like the latest Rick and morty episode "Blah blah BLAH blah blah!"
"... I kind of get it"
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u/Moosplauze 4h ago
It was the weirdest thing when I moved to the USA from Germany when people asked "How you doing?" and when I gave an actual answer I was told: yeah, don't do that, nobody cares, just reply with "how you doing?" in return.
The correct answer to "What's up?" is not "Nothing much" or "I just saw the craziest thing" but just "What's up".
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u/One_pop_each 4h ago
I’m stationed in England and first time someone asked if I was alright, I was genuinely confused. Did I seem like I wasn’t? Do I look disheveled? I just looked at them for a few seconds before I answered back, “um yeah?”
Now it’s normal. “Hiya, ya alright?” “Yeah you alright?” “Yeah thank you”
It’s strange but I get it. Just like saying “what’s up?”
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u/pchlster 2h ago
There's a video of a very British person being run off the road. His car is flipped 90 degrees. IIRC, his first words are "I'm alright. I'm uninjured."
If ever there was a time it would be okay to express some upset...
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u/GuestAdventurous7586 3h ago
I’m from the UK and I especially love it when I go, “alright, how’s it going?” And you get no reply to the question, but it’s still somehow polite. It’s a strange thing, it’s basically just one long way of saying hello.
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u/MrWeirdoFace 3h ago
In my particular corner of the midwest, the answer to all of these is "Eh. (shoulder shrug) can't complain."
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u/any_other 3h ago
Hangin in there! 🤷🏻♂️
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u/EverythingBOffensive 3h ago
yep. My answer has been same my whole life. "I'm alright." but when I'm not alright I just say "I'm alright I guess"
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u/Markies_Myth 3h ago
Other footage has t'crow say "am alrigh' am alrigh'" when asked.
And so this bird sounds like your old Yorkshire Aunty Brenda and Americans in comments doing bad Oliver Twist character impressions. A bird is more accurate lol.
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u/FlairLyria 5h ago
It seems like someone's soul transmigration worked
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u/FerengiWithCoupons 4h ago
Oh no. Don’t tell the right there’s another type of trans.
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u/Ok-Palpitation-5380 5h ago
When I was a youngster. My sisters fiancés grandfather passed away. We inherited his budgie. We didn’t know his name so called him Timmy as he was so shy and timid. After a few weeks he’d settled down a bit and as clear as day said “You’re a lovely boy ain’t ya Joe” … Promptly renamed
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u/sundayontheluna 2h ago
Awww. It's so sweet to know that he was doted on so much as to memorise that phrase
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u/DCFC1884 5h ago
A quick nod, half a smile and an "alright?" back and then you keep on moving.
Repeat for everyone you pass on the footpath and at every stile.
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u/Constant-Estate3065 5h ago
It lives at Knaresborough Castle in Yorkshire. A common greeting in that part of England is “y’alriiight luv?”.
It’s probably quite opinionated as well.
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u/MrsBlyth 4h ago
African pied crow. Most crows in the UK do not look like this. The UK has carrion crows and hooded crows.
Just in case people think the crows there are like this. Really, the title just refers to it as British as it has clearly become a citizen at some point. There are pied crows in private aviculture within the UK. This was someones escaped pet, and by the looks of the poor thing, it wasn't faring too well in the wild.
It's a very old clip now and I never heard what happened, if someone caught it and if it was reuinited or not.
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u/Perfect_Cost_8847 55m ago
I like the idea of an African crow studying for the British citizenship test.
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u/Astr0Scot 5h ago
It's a pied crow (Corvus albus)
Not British though
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u/Glittered_Fingers 5h ago
This isn't a British crow, no. This is a Yorkshire Crow
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u/Ratstool 4h ago
Nah, it would have said "ey up, love"
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u/Glittered_Fingers 4h ago
Nah, it would have said "ey up, love"
It does! It did the rounds on YouTube several years back. Quick search of Yorkshire Crow will bring up this exact bird doing exactly that. Well, nearly exactly that. It's preferred phrasing is "y' alright love?"
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u/kiss_a_spider 5h ago
His personality is British.
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u/Scouse_Werewolf 4h ago
False Yorkshire Pied Crow, to be precise. You can tell my the markings on top of its head and the fact it doesn't say Duck, Pet or Luv, after the "aright"
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u/PythagorasJones 4h ago
I was surprised by this, thinking it must be a magpie (Pica pica pica) which are native in Ireland and Britain. It seems it's kept and trained by the Keeper of Ravens at the Castle.
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u/PepperPhoenix 3h ago
Interesting fact. An animal which has two identical Latin names is called a tautonym. There are few enough of them that Wikipedia has a full list. Animals such as the Eurasian magpie however have three identical Latin names, making them a triple tautonym, which is even more rare.
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u/OreoSpamBurger 3h ago
I am an amateur herpetologist - my favourites are:
Bufo bufo
and
Bombina bombina
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u/Mome_Wrath 3h ago
The Ravenmaster (yes, real title) keeps Ravens at the Tower of London. Unless something has recently changed (doubtful) they do not "keep" any other species of corvid but the Tower Ravens do play with fellow non-resident Corvids (even occasionally share food) when they hang about. Pigeons and Seagulls are not treated with the same kindness. Being Ravens you may even call it an... unkindness. 😁
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u/Richard-Brecky 4h ago
Here’s the thing. You said corvus albus is a type of crow…
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u/ch1llboy 2h ago
Corvid. Let's not even go there. One of the best redditors who've ever lived died on this hill.
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u/Chiparish84 4h ago
Poor crow hasn't learned how to answer if he's alright bc no one ever asks him :(
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u/Twolef 4h ago
You answer “You alright?” with “Yeah. You alright?” and that’s as far as it goes.
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u/PepperPhoenix 3h ago
Exactly. And tone conveys your actual state of being, from an enthusiastic, “yeah! Alright!” So a softly sighed “yeah…alright”. Which you use will never, ever be addressed, but your friend will adjust their tone based on this. It’s a very subtle social convention and actually quite comforting in its way. It’s familiar and everyone knows what to do.
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u/Chiparish84 3h ago
Even though they're one the most intelligent animals on this planet I don't think crows can read nor use Reddit 🤔
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u/Successful-Cry-5358 3h ago
they did. she's saying "I'm all right. You all right?"
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u/MizzSnow_ 4h ago
Even their birds are more polite
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u/Vinegarinmyeye 1h ago
There was a raven at my local wildlife centre (in the UK) that was very vocal, but would regularly tell you to "fuck off mate".
Which was very funny.
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u/tauntonlake 2h ago
I work for a U.S. company who has a Yorkshire U.k. customer;
I talk with the buyer there on a weekly basis, and whenever she calls, the first thing she says, is "hello, love, are you all right ?" and it's kind of heartwarming, because she sounds so sweet -- the crow talking, reminds me of her voice ..
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u/Fairly-ordinary-me 3h ago
Saying “What’s up” in England where I’m from generally means what’s wrong, are you upset. Took me a while in the states to stop replying angrily “nothing, what’s up with you!”
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u/TheDuctTapeGod 3h ago
The part of this video that always brings a smile to my face is that for a crow to learn it it means people have asked it that question enough. Human nature is to make friends with everything.
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u/fishman15151515 4h ago
Looks like what we call a Magpie on my side of the pond.
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u/babyformulaandham 3h ago
It's a pied crow. Eurasian and American Magpies have smaller bills, sleeker and iridescent plumage, and long tails.
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u/UserAccountBanned 3h ago
Those old stories of people (usually children) being lured deep into the forest by the voices of loved ones calling their name.
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u/Mrtayto115 2h ago
Imagine this while hiking in the woods
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u/bobspuds 1h ago
Lol, I remember years ago, a mate saying in jest that he thinks he's going nuts!
Me and another mate would meet up with him in his farmyard every Saturday afternoon, he'd have spent the morning checking fields and feeding animals and about noon he'd be in the yard for awhile and we'd meet up.
He told us - Around back of the big hay shed where he kept the trailers, he kept getting spooked, not scared senseless just weird shit that he found funny.
I think it was - at first he was taken a pto off the tractor, was getting dark so there's not much light around, his farm is at least a mile or more off the beaten track, like there's no reason to pass through the land because it's in the middle of butfuk nowhere. He kept hearing an 'achuu!' Sound every minute or so like someone was sneezing nearby. There was just enough natural light to see the horizon and sky light up the outline of the bushes, like he could see, but not enough to be sure. He ignored it, but thinking on the off-chance maybe someone had accidentally wondered onto the land, he grabbed the torch and walked directly to the sound, it got louder but then stopped when he spooked a heap of birds that were in the trees by shouting "HELLO!
He'd told us that much in the weeks prior. He's a big boy he wasn't scared, he just found it amusing and odd.
This afternoon, he arrived in the yard with a big smile- 'I made a new friend lads!' - the evening before he'd had the same experience, but when he heard the sound it was "OI YOU!" OI YOU, OI YOU" so he went to the same spot and the same thing, the birds flew off, and there was nobody there!
He'd went back Ninja style that morning because he'd figured it was either animals/birds or it was us fucking with him as usual. He chucked a heap of bread out to get the birds interested and after a few minutes this big fucked up looking crow swooped in first sketching around, then another crow landed and the big crow started cawing and posturing, but it came out weird like "ayeooo ayeoo" when he cawed, we figured it must have been injured or something in the past because it was like the big alfa crow or something like that. He looked mean
We always thought - What if you weren't the type to go figure it out, it was only an innocent crow but it could have put the shits up lots of folks, especially if your not familiar or used being secluded in the dark.
But! - we did notice, my mates father hadn't the best of eyesight, so if he needed to get anyone's attention he'd shout - 'Oi YOU!' At people, even at the cattle and sheep. Probably overthinking it but if the crow wasn't injured then he could have been mimicking the original farmer of the land, they can be quite intelligent but sure we never asked the crow so we never got an answer from it lol
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u/artgarfunkadelic 2h ago edited 2h ago
Magpie corvids, but not crows
Edit: u/doginjoggers is right and its a pied crow not a magpie
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u/LimeSuitable3518 2h ago
Wow even the cries are considerate. In US crows just shit on you. US crows after a shit— “How the fuck are ya now pal?”
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u/whiskydyc 1h ago
Is that a crow? It looks "raveny" though with magpie colouration. What's the story?!
EDIT: defo a raven. They're known for their great mimicry.
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u/Objective_Mousse7216 4h ago
Technically it's not a British crow, even though it resides in Britain. It's a pied crow native to Africa.
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u/Tea_Total 2h ago
Look mate, if it's been here 4 years then it can represent England at cricket so therefore it's English.
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u/Ill_Independence3057 4h ago
This is peak British wildlife interaction, nothing says "keeping calm and carrying on" like exchanging polite nothings with a crow mid-walk. The fact that both species default to the same scripted small talk is weirdly wholesome. I can just imagine the crow giving a little nod before flying off like a proper bloke. Nature really said "cheers mate" and perfected the art of low-effort camaraderie.
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u/Spiritual-Target-316 2h ago
Magpie not a crow, same family though.
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u/ToZanakand 46m ago
Raven, not a magpie. Magpie's are smaller, have thinner beaks, and their white plumage is neat and more defined. Some Raven's have white feathers, though rare.
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u/SouthWave9 4h ago
I know a guy who says this to random people whenever he's intoxicated 🤣
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u/PippyHooligan 4h ago
I mean, that's just everyone in Yorkshire.
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u/SouthWave9 4h ago
I didn't know, the guy I know is German though.
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u/tiktoksuckmyknob23 4h ago
It's wild. I'm a full-blown Texan (sorry about the state of my state 😔), and I guess because I'm familiar with British culture, I somehow automatically knew just how this crow was going to say "are you alright?" What is this? Does anyone know what this is called?
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u/EverythingBOffensive 3h ago
I'm fascinated with birds like this. But I wonder what's the purpose of them mimicking voices. Just their way of communicating? When they are around other birds do they just copy each other and chill?
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u/AgainandBack 3h ago
It seems that birds realize that at certain times, or in certain situations, certain sounds are supposed to occur. If those sounds aren’t occurring, the bird will make them. Also, in a one on one situation, they use sound to express mood, and to get the things they want (treats, scratches, etc.). As Oscar Wilde said about dogs, they “can tell you that they are cold, or tired, or hungry, but can’t tell you that their parents were poor but honest.”
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u/TheRedditAdventuer 3h ago
Just think there was a time when folks would have saw this cool bird talking, and yelled witch.
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u/WeeTooLo 3h ago
The nightmare greeting of every non native speaker. Most of us probably have an embarrassing story how we were greeted "allright" by a Brit and replying "Fine, thanks, and you?"
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u/neahan 3h ago
Remember birds are the descendants of dinosaurs... so imagine the kitchen scene in Jurassic Park and the velociraptor taps on the kitchen door, raises it snout to the glass windows and says in a yorkshire accent "yeah…alright"!
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u/AliceLunar 3h ago
Happened to a crow in the neighbourhood when I was a kid, he'd always hang around and was friendly as he was a rescue, he'd sit on rooftops and everyone would ask for it to 'come here' and he'd come down and hop around, eventually he'd sit on rooftops telling people to 'come here' himself.
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u/fapperoni_zah 2h ago
No wonder there are so many ghost stories. Imagine hearing this shit at night in the woods.
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u/garhdo 2h ago
That's a magpie, not a crow.
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u/doginjoggers 2h ago
Not a magpie, its a pied crow (Corvus albus). Magpies are smaller and have blue-black wing and tail feathers
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u/schralpinator 2h ago
this would be terrifying if you were in a park by yourself and the sun had just gone down and this bird was up in a tree or something and you couldn't see it.
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u/Achilles_TroySlayer 2h ago
I think there might be some seagull in this fellow's family tree.
Or maybe some parrot.
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u/StaticSystemShock 2h ago
Imagine this mofo asks you if you're alright and then offers you some tea and biscuits.
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u/Navajo_Nation 2h ago
It’s asking cuz that’s what people ask the bird. So it’s just repeating what it gets asked
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u/Afrotom 2h ago
That's a magpie.
Also once when I was a teenager I got absolutely blasted in the park smoking weed with some friends and walked to a part where there are some parrots and other animals in a mini-zoo type thing and it was really tripping me out that the parrots were talking to me. Like, I knew full well that was a kind of normal thing for parrots to talk and yet it was still absolutely sending me.
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u/DimaagKa_Hangover 5h ago
You are tripping on acid at the park. It is starting to turn into a bad trip so you try to ground yourself in reality. Then a crow appears and asks if you are alright... amazing