Crows are a common bird found worldwide and are often
viewed as a nuisance, but they are also intelligent creatures with unique
behaviors and characteristics.
When someone is called a “bird brain,” it’s often not intended as a compliment. Birds, with their small brains, have a reputation for being less intelligent than other animals.
However, this is not the case for all birds, especially not for crows and ravens. These birds have been described as the smartest birds on Earth, and for good reason.
Here are some interesting
crow facts that You must have to know to increase your knowledge about crow.
01| Crows are tool users:
Crows have been observed using tools, such as twigs, to poke around for food or carrying multiple items.
They are also capable of creating their own tools, as demonstrated by the New Caledonian crows that were seen modifying leaves and twigs into hooks and barbed spears.
They can even learn to make tools by memorizing and recreating their designs.This complex tool-making is a behavior previously only observed in humans and great apes.
02| Crows know traffic rules:
03| Crows can recognize human faces:
Crows have the ability to remember human faces for up to five years, making it important not to mistreat them.
They will hold grudges and even share negative experiences with their peers.
04| Crows are goal-oriented:
Like humans, crows exhibit a sense of achievement after successfully completing a task.
This behavior suggests that crows enjoy having something to accomplish.
05|Crows have proportionally big brains:
Despite their small size, crows have relatively large brains compared to their body weight, similar to dolphins and great apes.
This
attribute gives them an advantage in intelligence and allows them to remember
faces for up to five years.
06|Crows can save their food for later:
Crows store their extra food in caches for later consumption, burying them in different spots or hiding them in leaves and other objects. They have favorite areas for storing food and even use markers to remember where they put it.
They are also aware of food spoilage and will eat
perishable food first, then store the non-perishable types.
07| They play sports:
Crows engage in playful activities like play-fighting, jousting, and tug-of-war.
08| Crows hold funerals for their dead:
When a crow dies, other crows gather around its remains, resembling a funeral.
Researchers suggest that the crows may be learning from their fallen neighbors, providing them with an opportunity to learn about dangerous situations, animals, or people.
09| Crows exhibit social learning:
Crows have been known to learn about dangerous individuals through social learning, and they will gang up on people that other crows had a negative experience with.
Even crows who have never encountered the person
before will join in and react angrily.
10| Crows rub ants on their feathers:
Crows exhibit a behavior called "anting," where they rub ants on their feathers and skin.
The agitated ants secrete formic
acid, which work as a shield against parasites and harmful microorganisms.
11| Crows mostly mate for life:
Crows are highly social and often form tight-knit families. A pair of crows will usually live together until one of them dies.
Both the male and female help each others in creating nests ( making own house) and raising chicks.
12| They steal from predators:
Crows have been known to distract predators by pulling on their tails while other crows snatch their food.
13| Scarecrows don't work for too long:
Crows quickly get used
to scarecrows and may even perch on them over time.
14| They can solve puzzles:
Crows can solve complex puzzles like
Aesop’s Fable, in which they drop sinking items into a container of water to
raise the water level and get to a floating food item deep inside.
15| They live for a long time:
Crows can live up to 20 years,
with captive crows living longer than wild crows.
16| They are popular in mythology:
Crows are the subject of many
myths and folklore around the world, with some saying they bring good luck and
others saying they bring bad luck.
17| They can cause blackouts:
Crows in Japan have caused
blackouts by building nests on power lines and transformers.
18| They fare quite well in cities:
Crows are omnivorous and
adaptable, thriving in cities due to the abundance of resources.
19| They have unique relationships:
Crows create long-term
relationships with other crows, and when they get into fights, they seek out
the other party to apologize.
20| They stay with their parents for a long time:
Crows stay
with their parents for up to five years or longer, giving them an advantage in
learning important survival skills.
21| White crows exist:
White crows exist due to genetic
abnormalities like albinism and leucism.
22| They experience analogical reasoning:
Crows can understand
analogies, which is a sign of high intelligence.
23| They are similar to ravens:
Telling the difference between a crow and a raven can be tricky as they have subtle differences.
24| They have dialects:
Crow calls vary in tone across regions, somewhat like dialects. When a crow goes to a different region of world , it will try tomimics the tone of the dominant crows in the area.
25| Crows Give Gifts
crows have been observed giving small gifts to people who befriend and feed them. A famous case in Seattle involved an eight-year-old girl who formed a bond with a group of crows.
She would often feed them and in return, they left her small gifts such as buttons, paper clips, pins, and a pearl-colored heart accessory.
Conclusion:
While crows are often dismissed as simple birds, they are, in fact, incredibly intelligent and adaptable creatures.
Their tool-making, goal-oriented behavior, and social learning abilities are only a few examples of their remarkable intelligence.
These fascinating creatures deserve a second look, as their behaviors offer insights into the complexity of the animal world