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Man wants help to solve chicken drumstick mystery

John Devine
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
Reporting fromSt Ives
Getty Images A golden-coloured cooked chicken drumstick set against a white background.Getty Images
Stuart Purvis says he is keen to find the source of the chicken drumsticks being dropped into his garden birdbath by crows

A man is appealing for help to trace the mystery source of the chicken drumsticks that are regularly dropped into his birdbath by crows.

Andy Purvis, 62, said the cooked chicken portions began appearing in his garden in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, about two years ago.

Now they are appearing in batches of "four or five" every day and he is keen to find out where they are coming from.

The British Trust for Ornithology said crows were "extremely intelligent birds" and that such behaviour was very common for them.

Andy Purvis Part of a circular stone birdbath, filled with water, that has three or four cooked chicken portions submerged in it. One is on the edge, half out. Greenery can be seen beside the birdbath.Andy Purvis
Mr Purvis says the partially-eaten drumsticks are being dropped by crows at a rate of "four or five a day"

Mr Purvis said the birds dropped the meat into the birdbath water and flew off while it softened, returning a few hours later to pick at the drumsticks.

"This started about two years ago and has progressively gotten worse," he said.

"At first we just thought it was people just putting the odd carcass out but it's too much now to be just coming from family homes."

Mr Purvis said he had since appealed via social media to find the source, in the hope it might end the daily ritual of collecting nibbled chicken.

John Devine/BBC Andy Purvis, 62, has a bald head and a white/grey beard and moustache, with some hair on the sides of his head. He is wearing a blue jumper and has a garden hedge and house behind him.John Devine/BBC
Mr Purvis says his wife goes out every morning "with dog poo bags to dispose of more batches of cooked chicken portions"

"I hope highlighting the issue will shame the person or business to manage their food waste more responsibly," he said.

Mr Purvis said the chicken was also an issue when friends visited with dogs.

"Dogs, of course, should not eat cooked bones as they could splinter and choke the animal," he said.

Andy Purvis A black crow near the water of a bird bath, with what looks like a piece of bread in its beak. The shot has been taken from inside a house, and the lead work of the window can be seen.Andy Purvis
The crows have also dropped bread and dog biscuits into the birdbath

Mr Purvis believes the birds are collecting the chicken from somewhere in St Ives.

"Some of the drumsticks are pretty meaty and would take quite an effort to carry, so it must be coming from nearby," he added.

John Devine/BBC A stone bird bath depicting a cherub holding a big fish, nice blue flowers around the base of it with grass and hedge beyond, the water looks discoloured in the bird bath from all the chicken drumsticks that are dropped in it.John Devine/BBC
Mr Purvis says the water in his birdbath now resembles "a horrible type of chicken soup"

The British Trust for Ornithology said such behaviour had been widely observed in crows.

"They are often seen soaking dry bread etc in water to soften it up before eating it, or feeding it to their chicks," a spokesperson said.

"The bones may be a slightly different matter - it's probably more likely that they are softening the dried meat / soft tissue elements that may still be attached to the bones. It's much easier to pick off that way.

"Crows are extremely intelligent birds and have been shown to work out quite complex puzzles in order to gain food."

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