They are known to be a cleaning symbiont of deer, feeding on ectoparasites of sambar which permit them to perch and position themselves to invite the birds to examine specific parts.[9][10] Like many other corvids they are known to cache food.[11] They have been considered to be beneficial to palm cultivation in southern India due to their foraging on the grubs of the destructive weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.[12] They are known to feed on the fruits of Trichosanthes tricuspidata which are toxic to mammals.[13]