An adventurous crow clutches in its beak a mini-board – thought to be a paint-lid or frisby – while perching on the apex of the roof.
After plucking up the courage for the black run, the crow jumps on the board and slides effortlessly some 25ft down the steep icy roof.
Incredibly, the crow enjoys it so much it picks up its makeshift-board and flaps its way back to the top of the roof before dropping back into the slop for another five runs
Footage of the thrill-seeking crow has become the latest YouTube hit clip.
The 1min 20sec clip, posted by “Alex” from Yekaterinburg, Russia, has no snappy music or witty voice-over – yet the simple pleasure the bird is deriving from its repeated rides has struck a chord with YouTube viewers.
Various versions of the clip have attracted as many as 250,000 views since it was posted few days ago.
The crow can be seen skiing down the roof on a disc-shaped object – described by some viewers as a bottle top.
After the ride is over, the bird simply clutches the disc in its talons and flies back to the top of the roof – saving itself a fortune in chairlift costs.
After unsuccessfully attempting to slide down a more barren stretch of rooftop, the crow flies back to its original set-off point and enjoys another adrenaline-pumping ski down the slopes.
All the while, Alex and his family can be heard laughing at their feathered neighbour’s antics (all except Alex’s infant child, who finds the whole experience a little overwhelming).
Finally, the crow picks up its disc an flies off – presumably planning to get a murder of mates together for a ski trip elsewhere.
Crows have been shown to be remarkably intelligent, with some species topping the avian IQ scale.
Researchers have observed crows using a variety of “tools” to attract and process their food, such as hooded crows in Israel using bread crumbs for bait-fishing, or New Caledonian crows dropping nuts into a busy street and waiting for a car to crush them open.
Recent research also suggests crows have the ability to recognize one individual human from another by studying facial features.
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