Crow Attacks a Spot-Billed Duck Family: Ducklings Dive as Their Mother Fights Back
A sudden crow attack, an immediate defensive response from a mother duck, and tiny three-day-old ducklings diving underwater to escape danger were among the most striking moments in this day of urban wildlife observation.
This unedited field record follows a family of Eastern Spot-billed Ducks (Anas zonorhyncha) living along an urban river in Japan. The family, recorded as Ag6-3, consisted of a mother and six approximately three-day-old ducklings on this day.
Only one day earlier, the same mother had ten ducklings. The family became separated at a river structure, leaving seven ducklings with the mother upstream and three below. The mother continued upstream with the seven, while the three separated ducklings remained behind. By the following day, the group accompanying her had fallen from seven to six.
The fate of the three separated ducklings was still unknown.
Alongside this developing story, the footage documents a male kingfisher, Red-eared Sliders, a Great Cormorant, Common and Large-billed Crows, Common Carp, and ordinary resting and feeding behavior of Spot-billed Ducks. These seemingly uneventful observations are an important part of the record because they provide ecological context for the more dramatic events.
The most notable sequence begins when a Common Crow approaches the duck family. It suddenly flies toward them, prompting the mother to defend her young while the ducklings dive underwater. A male Spot-billed Duck is also present and appears to react during the encounter.
Later, the mother displays an unusual interaction with her ducklings shortly after the attack. The meaning of this behavior is uncertain, but its timing makes it particularly interesting as an observational record.
This footage was recorded with a Nikon P950 superzoom camera and preserved with natural sound and minimal editing as part of a long-term urban wildlife documentation project.
Wildlife and Species Featured in This Observation
Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Scientific name: Anas zonorhyncha
Japanese name: カルガモ (Karugamo)
The Eastern Spot-billed Duck is a dabbling duck native to East Asia and is one of the most familiar wild ducks in Japan. Unlike many migratory ducks seen in Japan primarily during winter, Spot-billed Ducks commonly breed locally and can often be observed raising ducklings along urban rivers, ponds, canals, and other wetlands.
This observation focuses primarily on a mother Spot-billed Duck and her young ducklings. The family identification code Ag6-3 means Mother Ag with six ducklings estimated to be approximately three days old. These identification codes are my own system for tracking individual families over time and are not scientific terminology.
Common Crow
Scientific name: Corvus corone
Japanese name: ハシボソガラス (Hashibosogarasu)
The Common Crow, also widely called the Carrion Crow, is a highly intelligent and adaptable member of the family Corvidae. In Japan it occurs in agricultural landscapes, river environments, parks, and urban areas.
Crows are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders. In this footage, a Common Crow approaches the Spot-billed Duck family and then suddenly flies at them. The mother responds defensively, while the small ducklings dive underwater. Because crows can prey on young birds, encounters between crows and newly hatched ducklings are especially important to document.
Large-billed Crow
Scientific name: Corvus macrorhynchos
Japanese name: ハシブトガラス (Hashibutogarasu)
The Large-billed Crow is another common Japanese corvid, especially familiar in cities and wooded environments. It can be distinguished from the Common Crow by characteristics including its heavier bill, forehead profile, and vocalizations.
A Large-billed Crow appears later in this observation. It is less frequently recorded at this particular section of the river than the Common Crow.
Common Kingfisher
Scientific name: Alcedo atthis
Japanese name: カワセミ (Kawasemi)
The Common Kingfisher is a small, brilliantly colored fish-eating bird distributed widely across Europe and Asia. It is frequently associated with rivers, streams, ponds, and other freshwater habitats where it hunts small fish and aquatic animals by diving into the water.
A male Common Kingfisher was briefly observed during the upstream search.
Great Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax carbo
Japanese name: カワウ (Kawau)
The Great Cormorant is a large aquatic bird specialized for catching fish underwater. It is widespread across Eurasia and other regions and is commonly seen along Japanese rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal areas.
One individual came ashore near the river structure while I was searching for the three missing ducklings.
Red-eared Slider
Scientific name: Trachemys scripta elegans
Japanese name: ミシシッピアカミミガメ (Mississippi Akamimigame)
The Red-eared Slider is a freshwater turtle native to North America that has been introduced to many countries through the pet trade. It is an introduced species in Japan and is frequently encountered in urban ponds and rivers.
Both a large individual and a much smaller turtle were observed together, providing a striking comparison in body size.
Common Carp
Scientific name: Cyprinus carpio
Japanese name: コイ (Koi)
Common Carp are large freshwater fish found in many Japanese urban rivers. Adult Spot-billed Ducks in this observation appeared largely unconcerned by nearby carp, although one small duckling was startled when a carp's tail moved close to it.
Mulberry
Genus: Morus
Japanese name: クワ (Kuwa)
Mulberry trees produce fleshy fruits that are eaten by many birds and other animals. The mother Spot-billed Duck showed an obvious reaction to mulberries during this observation.
Field Observation Diary
00:00 – Highlights
A three-minute selection of notable moments from the day's observation, presented out of chronological order.
03:01 – Ag6-3: The Duck Family Has Fallen from Seven to Six
The Ag family now consisted of the mother and six ducklings approximately three days old.
The previous day, the mother had ten ducklings. At a river structure, the brood became divided: seven ducklings remained with the mother above the obstacle, while three were left below it.
The mother eventually continued upstream with the seven and did not appear to return for the three separated ducklings.
For record-keeping purposes, I therefore began treating the groups separately:
Ag6-3: Mother Ag with six ducklings, approximately three days old
Ag捨3-3: the three separated ducklings, approximately three days old
The use of 捨 in the second code is part of my personal field-record system and identifies the ducklings separated from the mother.
I searched for the three ducklings but could not locate them.
Based on previous observations, young ducklings separated from their mother can sometimes survive for surprisingly long periods, and I have documented orphaned ducklings growing independently in other years. Their survival was therefore still possible.
More concerning was the disappearance of one of the seven ducklings that had remained with the mother. Because that group had decreased from seven to six, there was a substantial possibility that the missing individual had died.
I planned to continue searching for the three separated ducklings on subsequent days.
06:34 – Male Common Kingfisher
A male Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) appeared during my search upstream.
07:01 – Checking the Pond
I reached a pond farther upstream. No Spot-billed Duck broods appeared to have hatched there yet this year, although an adult duck could be heard calling.
07:55 – A Resting Spot-billed Duck and an Unsuccessful Search
Farther upstream, I noticed someone enthusiastically photographing an ordinary duck.
At first I wondered whether the photographer had found the Bg family I was searching for, but that was not the case. The person apparently did not even know about the nearby duck family.
I was nevertheless happy to see someone pointing a camera at such an ordinary scene rather than only pursuing rare or especially popular birds. Familiar urban wildlife can reveal fascinating behavior when we take the time to observe it.
I eventually walked approximately three kilometers upstream from my regular duck-rearing observation area and then returned, but I could not locate the Bg family.
There were few other wildlife encounters apart from the kingfisher. Still, walking along the river without constantly raising my camera was unexpectedly refreshing.
08:10 – Adult and Young Red-eared Sliders
A large Red-eared Slider and a much smaller individual appeared together. Their dramatic difference in size made for an interesting comparison.
10:21 – Great Cormorant Comes Ashore
A Great Cormorant came onto land near the river structure.
I again searched below the structure for the three separated Ag ducklings but could not find them.
11:31 – Close View of Mother Ag
A close-up view of the mother Spot-billed Duck.
Mother Ag had settled into my regular duck-rearing observation area, but her use of the habitat was somewhat unusual compared with many families I have followed. She rarely visited several locations that other mothers frequently use, including sheltered areas beneath a bridge and structures that commonly serve as resting sites.
14:52 – The Male Ag Duck Appears Again
The male associated with the Ag family appeared again.
Male Spot-billed Ducks generally do not provide the same direct parental care as females, so his presence around the brood was worth recording.
15:27 – Mother Duck Shows Little Concern About Carp
Large Common Carp were nearby, but the mother showed virtually no alarm toward them.
At least during these observations, there was no indication that she was treating the fish as an immediate threat to her ducklings.
16:42 – Duckling Close-up as Crows Begin Calling
A very close view of one of the approximately three-day-old ducklings.
Calls from a crow could be heard nearby, shortly before the situation changed dramatically.
17:27 – Common Crow Approaches the Area
A Common Crow (Corvus corone) was calling and then suddenly moved toward the Spot-billed Duck family.
17:57 – The Crow Moves Directly Toward the Duck Family
Initially, I wondered whether the crow was simply passing near the ducks by coincidence.
Its subsequent movement made that interpretation increasingly doubtful.
The male Spot-billed Duck was also nearby.
18:22 – Crow Attack: Mother Defends, Ducklings Dive Underwater
The crow suddenly flew at the Spot-billed Duck family.
Mother Ag immediately responded defensively. At the same time, the tiny ducklings disappeared beneath the surface, using underwater diving as an escape response.
The male also reacted, although his response appeared later than the mother's.
This sequence is especially significant because very young ducklings are vulnerable to avian predators. Crows are opportunistic predators and are capable of taking young birds, including ducklings.
The footage therefore provides a useful record of antipredator behavior in a Spot-billed Duck family: an aerial approach by a potential predator, active maternal defense, and rapid underwater escape by the offspring.
I included a slow-motion version of this event in the opening highlights.
Related footage documenting a crow preying on a duckling is available here:
https://youtu.be/HTHrFu8bIPg?si=Btr2BSfPx9FkK6sh&t=2901
19:26 – Possible Continued Vigilance After the Attack
The mother's behavior appeared somewhat unusual.
It is possible that the crow was still nearby or had returned, although I could not confirm this from the observation alone.
19:42 – Unusual Interaction Between Mother and Ducklings
Mother Ag performed a movement that looked as though she was pecking at or checking the ducklings.
I do not remember previously seeing this exact behavior in this context.
Similar-looking movements can occur in other situations, including interactions involving mixed broods, but there were no other duck families immediately present here.
The location itself is shallow, and the ducklings often dive and feed on aquatic vegetation there. Because this happened shortly after the crow attack, one possibility is that the mother's behavior was related to checking or regrouping her offspring after the disturbance.
However, that interpretation remains speculative. The footage is preserved precisely because unusual behaviors can become more meaningful when compared with future observations.
20:56 – Ag6 Begins Swimming Again
The family resumed swimming.
The mother also occasionally appeared to target water striders or similar small organisms at the surface. I see this type of prey-catching behavior less often in adult Spot-billed Ducks than in ducklings.
22:52 – Duckling Startled by a Carp's Tail
One duckling reacted suddenly when the tail fin of a nearby carp moved.
The tiny bird's exaggerated startle response was both interesting and amusing to watch.
24:18 – Mother Duck Reacts to Mulberries
Mother Ag showed an obvious interest in mulberry fruit.
Urban river habitats are not simply aquatic ecosystems. Overhanging and riverside vegetation can also provide food resources for birds and other wildlife.
26:20 – Group of Four Male Spot-billed Ducks
Four male Spot-billed Ducks were observed together.
The Ag family passed along the opposite bank, but there was no obvious interaction between the males and the family.
28:56 – Ag6 Travels Upstream
Mother Ag and her six remaining ducklings continued upstream.
33:51 – Large-billed Crow
A Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) appeared.
Although this species is extremely familiar in many parts of Japan, I encounter it less frequently than the Common Crow at this particular observation site.
34:02 – Ducklings Come Ashore: Preparing for a Nap
After temporarily losing sight of the family following the Large-billed Crow sighting, I found Ag again.
The ducklings came ashore, and the mother began bathing and preparing to rest.
I had not seen this family settle down for a proper daytime rest since the brood became separated the previous day, so I stayed and continued recording.
34:37 – Mother Comes Ashore, Then Changes the Resting Site
The mother initially climbed onto land but then decided to move to another resting location.
34:54 – The Family Sleeps
The family finally settled down.
This was the first time since their first day that I had seen them use this particular sleeping site.
On that earlier occasion there had been ten ducklings.
Now there were only six.
After the tension of the crow encounter and the uncertainty surrounding the missing ducklings, the long, quiet resting sequence provides a very different kind of wildlife record: a mother and her tiny young simply sleeping beside an urban river.
I left the camera running for an extended period to preserve their natural behavior without compressing it into only the most visually dramatic moments.
1:22:28 – The Duck Family Wakes Up
After a long rest, the family finally woke.
The six ducklings gathered around their mother and set off again.
What Happened to the Missing Ducklings?
By the end of this observation, Mother Ag had six ducklings.
At least one of the seven ducklings that had remained with her after the previous day's separation was missing.
The three ducklings left below the river structure also remained unaccounted for despite repeated searches.
It would be difficult to assume that all three survived, particularly at such a young age. However, long-term observation has taught me not to declare the outcome too quickly. In previous years I have repeatedly encountered ducklings surviving without a mother, including individuals that continued growing independently.
For that reason, I intended to keep searching.
I also searched for another recently reported family, Bg4, farther upstream but could not locate them.
According to additional information I received, the Bg ducklings had appeared in a residential complex, where local residents caught them and released them into the river. The precise circumstances involving their mother were unclear. A duck reportedly approached after the ducklings called, but earlier information suggested that a duck had attacked the young.
Without witnessing the event directly, there are too many possible explanations to determine exactly what happened.
Situations involving separated wild ducklings can be extraordinarily complicated. What appears to be abandonment, rescue, reunion, or rejection at one moment may be only one part of a longer sequence of events.
This is one reason continuous observation and original footage are so valuable.
Why I Preserve Unedited Wildlife Footage
On my YouTube Shorts channel, I mainly introduce memorable moments from urban wildlife, with a particular focus on Spot-billed Duck families and their ducklings.
Short videos, however, are edited for storytelling. They may contain music, sound effects, cuts, slow motion, and other techniques that make an event easier and more entertaining to watch. That format is useful for introducing wildlife behavior to a broad audience, including children and viewers around the world, but it cannot fully reproduce the experience of observing wild animals in real time.
I personally tend to be skeptical when I see heavily edited wildlife footage. A dramatic scene becomes much more meaningful when its original context can also be examined.
For this reason, the short wildlife scenes I publish are drawn from a much larger archive of patient, continuous field observation. Whenever possible, I preserve the unedited or minimally edited footage with its natural sound.
I have been accumulating these date-by-date records for more than 1,000 days.
Much of the footage may appear uneventful. Ducks sleep. Birds preen. Fish swim past. A family disappears behind vegetation. Sometimes I walk several kilometers and find almost nothing.
But those ordinary periods are part of the evidence too.
When observations are preserved continuously over days, weeks, breeding seasons, and years, changes become visible: brood size, duckling survival, habitat use, movement routes, predator encounters, maternal behavior, resting sites, responses to river structures, and interactions with other urban wildlife.
A single spectacular clip shows a moment.
A long-term archive shows what happened before and after that moment.
I know that these lengthy, minimally edited recordings are not always convenient to watch. They exist primarily as field notes, source footage, and a visual record of naturally occurring animal behavior. But I hope this growing archive can also be useful to birdwatchers, wildlife enthusiasts, researchers, students, and anyone interested in observing the everyday ecology of animals living alongside people.
🦆 Raw Bird & Wildlife Footage | No BGM 🌍️
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL7dTQKKqrPzZpmfSA98tn9tXWfkp1jBB
Observation and Recording Notes
The duck-family codes used in this article are my personal identification system. They are designed to help me follow individual mothers and broods across large amounts of footage and should not be interpreted as formal ornithological terminology.
Likewise, some location names and terms used in my original Japanese field notes are informal labels created for quickly identifying particular river structures, resting sites, and sections of habitat.
The priority of these records is simple: preserve what was observed, retain the original footage, and make it possible to return to the exact moment later.
Camera: Nikon COOLPIX P950
Filming record code: 0510G
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