Last week we talked about zebras. This week let’s stay in the animal kingdom and check out the intelligent, though often misunderstood, crow.
The Bird
Crows have long been found in symbolism and folklore. They have been both revered and feared thanks to their eerie calls, black color, and human-like intelligence.
Most people consider crows bad luck. In the city, crows are seen as nuisances, while in the country, farmers blame them for eating their crops. On a more ominous note, they’re considered a bad omen, a harbinger of disease or death. But really, the only scary thing about them is their brain.
The sleek, black-feathered crow belongs to the genus Corvus, as do ravens, rooks, and jackdaws, and they’re found on every continent except Antarctica. Measuring about 17” long and weighing about 20 ounces, a wild crow can live 10-15 years. In captivity, a crow can stretch that to 20 years, although one was recorded to have lived to 59. The birds have over 250 different calls. They also have good color vision and can tell the difference between colors, as well as various objects.
Crows are omnivores. They eat fruits and seeds, insects, small animals, and carrion. They thrive in a variety of environments because of this diverse diet.
Did You Know…
- In Medieval Europe, superstitions linked crows to spirits of the dead or witches.
- Native Americans often see crows as sacred beings who represent change, adaptability, and the balance between life and death.
- A group of crows is known as a murder. Bird watchers and poets have used this term since at least the 15th century.
Social Animals
Crows are very sociable, thriving in close-knit, family units of up to five generations. Through cooperation and communication, they raise their young, share food, and defend their territory.
American crows usually mate for life, living most of the year in pairs or small family groups. These lifelong pair bonds are based on cooperation and trust. They display affection and share nesting, food gathering, and nest guarding responsibilities. They will have anywhere from 3-9 eggs, with an incubation period of 16-18 days. Older crow siblings often provide food for both their parents and younger siblings.
Did You Know…
- Crows band together to fight off predators.
- During the winter, crows will gather in large sprawling groups called roosts, sleeping together to stay warm. A roost can number from hundreds to two million crows.
- A study of American crows found that 80% of the nests had a “helping hand” from an older sibling. Some of these birds will serve as regular “nest assistants” for over five years.
- Crows gather when one of their own dies. While this “funeral” is a form of mourning, it’s also how they evaluate possible threats. They seldom return to the death area, even if there’s plenty of food there.
- Crows play pranks and tease other animals. They also play games with other crows.
- Like humans, crows have vocalization dialects that differ by regions or social groups. If they join a new flock, they’ll attempt to fit in by mimicking them.
Brain Power
A crow’s intellect makes them adaptable innovators and crafty problem-solvers. They can perform tasks using advanced reasoning, like understanding cause-and-effect relationships. This comes from their large brain. In the bird world, crows, along with ravens and parrots, have brain-to-body size ratios larger than all other living birds. In fact, compared to a human’s brain, which is approximately 1.9% of the overall body weight, the New Caledonian crow’s brain is 2.7% of its overall body weight. This makes the crow’s brain proportionately larger than a human’s.
Crows have excellent memories, especially of how humans treat them. They can identify human faces and hold grudges—for years—if wronged or threatened. And it’s not just the one crow. The grudge is shared by all crows in that group—even the young who hatched after the event happened. On the other hand, crows show gratitude and give gifts to people who are nice to them.
Did You Know…
- Japan’s carrion crows, as well as American crows in California, have learned to read traffic lights. When the light turns red and cars stop, the birds fly down and place a nut under a car’s tire. They fly away when the light turns green, watching from a safe distance as the car cracks the nut. When the light turns red again, they swoop back down and retrieve the nut’s meat.
- Some crows make, modify, and use tools to do things like retrieve food from hard-to-reach places.
- Over the years, farmers have used scarecrows to scare crows. This may initially work, but crows are too smart to be fooled for long. When they realize scarecrows aren’t dangerous, they ignore them.
- Crows can imitate animals and humans.
- Because of their intelligence, crows can be trained to perform various tricks and tasks.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to their intelligence, crows are able to adjust to human activity and changing environments. This adaptability helps them survive and succeed. And while scientists continue to study this extraordinary bird, there’s only one thing you need to remember . . .
Don’t get on a crow’s bad side.
Did You Know…
- In the 1930s, there was an attempt to make eating crow popular. The Oklahoma governor even established a “Statehouse Crow Meat Lovers Association.” The practice never caught on and the fad faded in the early 1940s.
- The expression “eating crow” means to acknowledge humbly when you make a mistake.
- “Anting” is when crows rub ants on their feathers and skin. Scientists believe the ants’ secretions act as a repellent against feather mites, other parasites, and harmful microorganisms.