17-year-old senior crow thinks he's a tiny human

Tuck’s Unique Personality

Macy, who worked with the American Eagle Foundation, never thought she would have a special bond with a crow, Tuck. It was very overwhelming and amazing whenever she thought about their relationship. The intelligent crow could mimic a few words. Macy did not really have to train him on that. It was something that people would say to him every day. However, whenever Tuck really wanted attention from people around him, he would say “what,” which meant that he was aggravated with them.

The crow had recently picked up on mimicking a bullfrog from time to time. Macy loved Tuck so much that she even got a hand-painted earring that looked exactly like him. The kind caretaker worked for the American Eagle Foundation, a non-profit organization located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

The foundation rescued, rehabilitated, and released birds of prey and eagles. They had 75 non-releasable birds at their foundation. Tuck was retrieved from a pet store. Since he was born under human care, he never learned how to survive on his own inside the wild.

Life at the Sanctuary

The adorable little one was an African pied crow. These birds usually came from South and East Africa, so they were not native to the United States. Tuck was a 17-year-old senior bird, and these birds had an average life span of 20 years.

Tuck acted very much like a senior gentleman to the point where he did not like to come out of his room early in the morning. However, he enjoyed being the star of everything and was a ladies’ man. Every time the organization had women come over to visit him, he just loved the attention he got from the ladies.

However, Tuck only wanted to be social with humans and not with other birds. Actually, he thought that the humans were a part of his little family unit. Macy even trained the intelligent bird in object recognition. She placed Tuck’s toys on the ground, out of which his favorite was the tire. So, every time his caretaker asked him to touch the tire, Tuck would walk over to it and feel it. But, of course, most birds at the sanctuary didn’t allow the caretakers to handle them. But Tuck was an exception.

Training and Care

The adorable bird allowed them to give slight scratches on his head. Tuck was a non-flighted bird. He had terrible arthritis in both his wings and legs, so it was tough to fly. He could get a couple of feet but not very far. Walking was also challenging. Macy was happy that she got the opportunity to be Tuck’s primary caretaker. Although he did not like her initially, they had developed this relationship of trust over the years.