Why are crows pecking away at a freshly painted wall in Alameda?

"Paint chips can be rich in calcium carbonite (limestone), which crows not only like but need in a balanced diet. Light colored, newly painted surfaces also can attract insects that crows find irresistible. When your senior center decides to repaint the wall, you should suggest they go for a darker color."

"The primary reason dogs, for the most part, don't answer the mournful howls of their evolutionary cousins is because they don't speak the same language. The coyotes are talking to each other, or at least sending out a vocalization that can be heard by other coyotes. Dogs might hear the calls, but they don't understand the message any better than we do."

Crows exhibit intelligent behavior by targeting newly painted tan or light-colored walls to extract paint chips rich in calcium carbonate, a nutritional necessity for their diet. Light-colored surfaces also attract insects that crows find appealing. The behavior is driven by dietary needs rather than aesthetic preferences. When repainting affected surfaces, darker colors are recommended to discourage this activity. Additionally, coyotes and dogs do not communicate through shared vocalizations because they lack a common language; dogs typically remain silent when hearing coyote calls, possibly due to recognizing them as predators, though some dogs may howl in response to express fear or warn others of danger.

Read at www.mercurynews.com