Crow or gorilla - Bizarre video leaves netizens baffled; can you solve this mystery?

A bizarre video of a crow sitting like a gorilla has taken the internet by storm. In the short clip, the crow is seen perched on its wings but its feet aren't visible. According to BBC, the video was shared by a user named Keitaro Simpson. The bizarre ‘crow gorilla’ video has been viewed 10.5 million times. 

Check out the video below:

朝から衝撃をありがとう。
心臓に悪い、 pic.twitter.com/fDlOGiumD6

— LIWJATAN (@keita_simpson) June 20, 2019

As soon as the video hit the internet, it invited a lot of comments from the netizens. "I stared at the bird video for 10 minutes start trying to figure out what was going on. Your photo helped me sleep tonight," said a user while another said, "Nah he's just showing off his sick gains." 

Nah he's just showing off his sick gains

— Squidman (@squidmanshow) June 23, 2019

It’s a crowilla, accept it.

— Adam (@ADAMATION) June 23, 2019

I draw the picture. Because your video is so funny. He looks like standing with his four legs.😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/PSx206YREO

— ✦ ᴅᴀɴɪ ✦ (@Fiorevento) June 22, 2019

Kaeli Swift, whose Twitter bio says that she holds a 'PhD in crow death behaviours' explains this is a very normal thing to do for birds. She wrote on Twitter, "There’s a very strange (uncredited) video of crow making the rounds on reddit. Here’s the deal. First, this is a large-billed crow, which is why the face is looking a little out of proportion."

Read her tweets:

There’s a very strange (uncredited) video of crow making the rounds on reddit. Here’s the deal. First, this is a large-billed crow, which is why the face is looking a little out of proportion. pic.twitter.com/LUYuMimvAp

— Kaeli Swift, PhD (@corvidresearch) June 22, 2019

Second, this bird is not missing its legs and propping itself up with its wings, that would be physically impossible. Also, not that it’s relevant to the answer, but a crow without legs couldn’t fly, because it couldn’t generate any lift. So legless crow is a dead crow.

— Kaeli Swift, PhD (@corvidresearch) June 22, 2019

What it’s actually doing is sunning itself. When birds sun they drop their wings and cock their tails. At the right angle that could obscure the legs and tail making it look like they’re missing.

— Kaeli Swift, PhD (@corvidresearch) June 22, 2019

Usually the mouth is open and the body is closer to the ground, making the behavior more obvious, but perhaps the videographer caught it in a moment of transition.

— Kaeli Swift, PhD (@corvidresearch) June 22, 2019

In any case sunning like this is a common behavior among birds. Sometimes it’s about warming up but a lot of times you’ll see them do it when it’s hot out. In these cases it’s about feather care. Sun exposure can reduce feather degrading bacteria and mites.

— Kaeli Swift, PhD (@corvidresearch) June 22, 2019