Crows, smarter than you think | John Marzluff | TEDxRainier

As research continues, the term "bird brain" no longer carries a negative connotation. Avian researcher John Marzluff showcases a few amazing, problem solving (and sometimes vindictive) feats accomplished by crows in order to break down common misconceptions about avian intelligence.
John Marzluff, Ph.D., is the James W. Ridgeway Professor of Wildlife Science at the University of Washington. His research has been the focus of articles in the New York Times, National Geographic, Audubon, Boys Life, The Seattle Times, and National Wildlife. PBS's NATURE featured his raven research in its production, "Ravens," and his crow research in the film documentary, "A Murder of Crows". His graduate and initial post-doctoral research focused on the social behavior and ecology of jays and ravens. He was especially interested in communication, social organization, and foraging behavior. His current research brings this behavioral approach to pressing conservation issues including raptor management, management of pest species, and assessment of nest predation.
His book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens (with Tony Angell, 2005 Yale U. Press) blends biology, conservation, and anthropology to suggest that human and crow cultures have co-evolved. This book won the 2006 Washington State Book Award for general nonfiction. With his wife, Colleen, he has published Dog Days, Raven Nights (2011 Yale University Press), which combines reflection with biology and the recreational pursuit of dog sledding to show how a life in science blooms. Gifts of the Crow (2012 Free Press) applies a neurobiological perspective to understand the amazing feats of corvids. He is a member of the board of editors for Acta Ornithologica, Landscape Ecology and Ecological Applications. Currently leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Recovery Team for the critically endangered Mariana Crow, he is also a Fellow of the American Ornithologist's Union.
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[@higgsfieldinthefield9916]

I used to sit in my back yard and play my acoustic guitar, as I sang songs all the crows would shut up and listen then when I was done make loads of noise till I played another one, they clearly liked the music.

[@alvarogoenaga3965]

Don't flatter yourself. Some were pretending they liked your music while others were stealing your food without you noticing.

[@mikehughes6582]

Crows gather at a neighbor's house while she is playing classical piano. They're silent until she stops playing. I've witnessed them several times.

[@meeshgardner83]

The chattering after you finish is their discussion on your performance.

[@asherschmidt9820]

Do they ever flap their wings in applause?

[@Matchhead79]

I had a mockingbird land in a Bush and sing along with the music on my radio

[@trinacorbett4827]

One day, I was walking out by the ocean when a cheese stick hit me in the head. I looked around to see who threw it at me. No one around me for miles. Nothing above me. I even looked to see if there was aircraft anywhere in the sky. Nothing for miles. I wasn't near any rocks or cliffs ... just sand and pavement. I did notice a raven on an old power pole about three street widths from me ... watching me very carefully. Actually I felt he was eyeing that cheese stick. I picked it up unwrapped it partially, set it back down and walked off. Yep ... he went and got that cheese stick and ate it. I completely believe he dropped that stick on me to open it for him. There was no other explanation ... at all.

[@sheriffburfordt.justice4488]

Trina Baker Certainly possible. I know they will often drop a nut like a walnut into the street and wait for a car to run over it. They will then collect the nut ready for eating.

[@YouzACoopa]

Trina Baker - he robbed it from a kid and got you to be his accomplice. diabolical!

[@abyp1883]

Omg Trina! that gave me goosebumps! wow. Plus sheriff's share ....did not know they do that!

[@telefunkenyou47]

I have no doubt it wanted you to open it, like an adolescent child.

[@Sneaky-Snek]

that is pretty insane and absolutely what happened... he literally through action said "hey open this for me bro"

[@profile1251]

On Crowtube it's titled, 'Humans, smarter than you think'

[@Fabzil]

Hahahaha

[@thedativecase9733]

Tee Hee :)

[@andreass2301]

You mean: 'Humans, dumber than you think'.

[@KrzysiuNet]

And subtitle "But not really. Caw caw caw".

[@BrigidC123]

Imapov Soru - Human's don't Learn from other people's mistakes, Crows do. Humans are a Cancer on planet Earth. It won't be long until we are nearly wiped out or totally wiped out. I can't wait until Yellowstone volcano goes off and the reset button for Earth begins. Yellowstone volcano is long overdue an eruption. I would like Humans to become one with nature and treat this Earth as it should be treated but we aren't.

[@octoberfire13]

My dad recued a young injured crow in the 90's. as he got bigger and stronger and used to interacting with us, he started talking! He knew how to say "Hello, Hello Joe, Okay Joe, Hey Joe, Hi Stoney (his name was Stoney), and he mimicked the dogs barking and also imitated human laughter. That seemed to be his favorite, hysterically laughing and playing around. He was truly a character. it was so cool to grow up and be able to witness this

[@Pillion1]

Yup. Far more clever than us. They have a sense of humour 😂

[@isabellefleszar5851]

Last year, my manager at the movie theater saw a super bedraggled looking crow sort of limping around outside. My manager (Jeff) got a small cup of popcorn and threw it out in the grass for the crow to eat. That crow, for the next three months (and only when Jeff was there) would stand outside the window next to the managers station and TAP. It got to the point where the section that bird tapped is completely chipped. Well, I went off to college and came back the next summer to find a small murder of crows living directly outside of the movie theater. They don't beg from customers, only from us employees. They'll stand outside the glass door, look directly at us, and caw at the top of their lungs until someone chases them away or feeds them. If I'm being honest, they've started to grow on me. Sometimes they'll just sit in groups and watch us staffers work, like we're in a zoo.

[@stanislavzoldak2198]

They've started to crow on you *

[@TheAaronmcmahon11]

My dad saw an injured crow outside his office and watched another crow come and feed it until it got better and they both left. Super cool.

[@how2pick4name]

I have a couple that i feed every morning. One is a bit scared and it calls over the other one to get me. We have this routine where the second one sits on the railing in front of my apartment, i go out saying "walkie walkie walkie". It steps aside, i put down a peanut and it comes to get it with me standing right there. Then i put down another one, yell "come!" and move away because the other one is too scared to get it otherwise. :D This repeats till they have had enough peanuts. I see them hiding excess food and collecting it in the afternoon. sometimes sharing, sometimes blatantly eating it in front of others going, i got peanuts, you got nothing.. ;)

[@derpitehertz1444]

KeiraR I moved away from the west coast about 500kms. For 11 months. I fed this crow a pancake soaked in expensive maple syrup. And one day I came back to that property with a soggy waffle covered in Maple syrup. And the same crow came and picked up the waffle I put a couple feet from my foot. Crows remember which people are friends or foes I love crows.

[@cheyenne6266]

TheAaronmcmahon11 same dude

[@boldisordorin9010]

I didnt read corectly and i thaught your dad left lol.

[@mrupert22]

I once saw a crow tutoring a kid with basic math homework

[@JennRighter]

I work at a casual but extremely popular restaurant in S. Austin, TX. The beer garden has a roof, but it's open on all sides so the crows come in and most people consider them a pest. They are so very smart. They will land on tables without people on them but would NEVER swoop food from a person eating or land on a table anyone was eating at. When I bus my tables I'll nonchalantly dump any scraps into side areas where no one will see me. The crows have come to know me now, and they wait close to the little spots where I dump scraps instead of setting up shop where they normally do (by tables of people eating, where they expect crumbs to fall). Recently, a crow missing a foot has come along. Unicrow seems to be just fine, not just in flying, but in the ground and hopping mobility that crows have. Some small part of me hopes that Unicrow was brought to my secret scrap spots by the other crows that know me. This was a ramble. Bottom line, I love birds and I REALLY love crows.

[@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530]

I enjoyed your story. I am an ornithologist and especially love the Corvids, (Crows, ravens, magpies, rooks, etc.)

[@JennRighter]

@@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530 Thank you! I've been a novice bird watcher for 15 years now. While I have vastly more knowledge than someone with no interest, I'm nowhere near being an expert. Corvids are definitely my favorite. They're so obviously intelligent just from passing observation. I had a friend who rescued a blue jay that she ended up keeping, as its injuries prevented it from flight. That bird is CRAZY smart. Speaks better human language than most birds. It's fascinating.

[@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530]

Jenn Righter>> After 15 years of birding, I'm sure you know a lot about our feathered friends. I'm not surprised at that blue jay's intelligence and vocabulary. The corvids can sometimes even surpass parrots in their talking ability and even in intelligence, despite the fact that parrots are extremely smart also. I don't know if you saw it or not, but I wrote a short story about my encounter with a crow and gull down below.

[@davidmee4969]

I've been feeding neighborhood crows for a few years --- try putting out a little bowl of water too.

[@WastedFlan]

the crows will outlive us all keep Austin weird!!

[@johnjohnson-gm3jh]

My town installed traffic lights that would optically detect pedestrians wanting to cross the street and flash a yellow light to remind traffic to yield. At one of these crossings I saw a crow playing with it - jumping in front of he detector and looking up at the light. The town has replaced the optical detectors with push buttons.

[@andresgagge6977]

Lmao Imagine being trolled by a crow and having to spend money cause of it

[@Bingojingo646]

This is hilarious!! 🤣 Where are you from??

[@TheCulturalCompass]

Lol

[@SuperPhunThyme9]

You know your town council may have a spending problem.. ...Those sensors aren't cheap like the things we order on Amazon.

[@vitakyo982]

Ha ha ha

[@mikepellerin4611]

Crows and Ravens, can be like dogs. I had a raven that had a hurt wing. I fixed it and he stayed around for 16yrs. He ate from my hand, he knew words, he liked my cats.

[@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530]

What was his favorite TV show?

[@mikepellerin4611]

@@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530 Batman.

[@nikog4126]

@@mikepellerin4611 hahaha

[@KyChristensen]

That is awesome

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Pretty sure that day the cats lost their position as apex predator in the household :D

[@mael-strom9707]

I'm sure crows love to play. Some time ago I had a local crow that used to follow me on my motorcycle, maneuvering along side of me and sometimes crossing over the front of my bike. I used to gather speed, thinking that surely the crow couldn't keep up, when, one day a few miles down the road I noticed a lame crow hobbling across the road. I stopped to see if it was injured and if I could help it in some way. As I stooped down to pick it up, to my surprise, the crow suddenly regained full health and flew away. I'm certain without a doubt, it was the same crow, and the little rascal was laughing at me! ...lol.

[@janellehoney-badger6525]

They do this, mostly, to lure danger away from their kids

[@Picca65]

Yes, they play!

[@rayman1611]

We have a Raven couple who call our little valley home. They are very kind to each other, feeding each other, kissing, flying in beautiful dances. They bring us presents as well, clusters of ripe berries, big earth worms are waiting for us on our stoop. They are dotting parents to between 5 to 2 babies each spring. They bring them to us. They teach the babies to fly. They all leave for a month or so in the late summer. We think they are teaching their young and finding a home territory for each. One year there was timid, slow growing chick. The allowed it to stay in their territory. It grew and prospered. It still makes an appearance and the folks don't attack it. Very good friends and nice to share our lives with.

[@vitakyo982]

Did you eat the worms ?

[@CLEFT3000]

VITA kyo yes lol I would be worried about offending them when I didn’t partake !

[@CLEFT3000]

How beautiful. Thank you for appreciating & noticing what most don’t.

[@celticwarrior777]

Thats lovely

[@manlyman1393]

@@vitakyo982 Fry em up and devour them

[@ronaldkrueger8247]

We had a pet crow who rode on the children's tricycle handle bars and used the turbo vent on our roof as a carousel. He did many other amazing things. He never came inside. He'd show up at my daughter's kindergarten playground and played with the kids. While we were at work he visited retired people. He learned my children's names and could call them just like I did. If we went for a walk, he's walk beside us.

[@stephenberry6755]

In Durban - South Africa, in the sixties, the town council decided there were too many crows. So they appointed one man to cull a whole lot of them. Within a week every crow in town knew this guy and would scream at him. Even years later, long after the culling had stopped, they would still scream at him.

[@darkmasterchief227]

The crows never forgive, never forget.

[@shaolindreams]

lol

[@francesbreen1973]

They recognize faces. This has been shown to be true in formal experiments.

[@castoresnegros]

What is amazing is that they pass that gene to their young ones before they hatch

[@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530]

All birds have an amazing ability to recognize individual faces. Look at a colony of penguins. They look so incredibly alike, no human could tell them apart from just looking at their faces. Yet the members of the colony are all able to recognize individuals quite easily. They know their mates from 50 yards away or more.

[@TheStigma]

I've told this story before, but I have my own anecdote about crows from when I was regularly commuting to and from school in Norway. Here in Bergen we have a city rail system, and the rails themselves are depressed into the street (to allow cars to drive over them). My regular bus-stop was right at these tracks, and also right next to the ocean (a bay). As I was waiting for the bus each day I would regularly see crows come to drop shells into the rail depressions - then promptly leave, only to return a couple of minutes later - always right as the next rail-car was scheduled to pass (about 10 minutes between) and sit and wait. When the rail car passed it of course cracked the shells, and the crows would then go retrieve their prize and fly off. I made it a point to predict the next rail-car based on the crows waiting, and it was rarely more than a minute off. It seemed clear to me that these crows not only clearly understood how to use the rail-cars to their advantage but also had an impeccable grasp grasp of the timing/schedule to minimize their efforts in exploiting it. That was pretty impressive I thought. I wish I had a smart-phone back then to have recorded it.

[@j.christopherlindsey8933]

Though not my story, but I was once told something similar by a former coworker. He was eating lunch one day near an intersection with traffic lights. The crow would sit on the pole until the light turned red stopping traffic then fly down and mess around for a few seconds before flying back up to the pole before traffic started to move again. It did this several times. The gentleman moved closer to see what the crow was doing. It was placing nuts in the path of the vehicle tires; it had the position and timing down perfectly. It knew where the best place was, how much time it had to eat and place more nuts. Amazing.

[@KrzysiuNet]

I'm concerned about depressed rails. I'm sure if they would be properly raised, they wouldn't be so depressed now.

[@MikeRees]

It could be the timing, it wouldn't surprise me, a lot of animals have a good grasp on timing, but it's just as likely their vantage point let them see the tram coming.

[@ariggle77]

Crows in Japan have been documented placing walnuts in the street, waiting for cars to drive over the nuts, then retrieving their snacks. :)

[@BaiAnNaTwitter]

I have a book titled "How To Misbehave in Norway" . It's a really funny read. I shared a scanned copy with Jimmy Fallon. 🙌 Hands high! 😃

[@stephenphillip5656]

I watched a TV programme on this subject a few years ago. The programme featured Japanese crows living in an urban environment. The crows would pick up a hard piece of food (usually a nut from the local trees) and drop it onto the busy road for the cars to run over it and break it open. The crows would then take a chance to go into the road (amongst all the traffic) and retrieve their food, but they quickly learned that this was very dangerous. They then took to dropping the nuts onto an adjacent pedestrian crossing (crosswalk for you in North America!) which was controlled by traffic lights. They watched as the cars ran over the food, opening it for them and then waited until the lights went to red and the pedestrians started to cross. This was their cue to retrieve their food *safely.* They are a very smart and sassy species of birds! The programme also showed crows sliding down a snowy rooftop and then returning to the top- because it was *fun.*

[@chriscullen6949]

saw that he was using a bottle cap for his sled/slide down, drag his sled back to the top slide back down, unbelievable

[@Novel8421]

What was this documentary? It sounds really interesting.

[@robertogiovanelli1709]

Yes i also seen

[@cathykrueger4899]

I had a crow that was brought to me as a baby. I raised it in an outdoor aviary of sorts and let it go as soon as it tried to fly. He never left. I would see him riding the turbo vent on our roof with his wings outstretched. It was his merry-go-round. He rode on the Children’s tricycle bars. He walked beside us for our evening walks. He flew across our small town to play with the kindergarten children. He visited retirees. He helped shell peas with our neighbors. He flew into the back yard when he was called. AND he learned to say our children’s names.

[@dyannnecat]

@@cathykrueger4899 Wow! That's so cool.

[@giovannicamisa1453]

A friend of mine, whilst decorating a house, used to take his lunch break by a pond in the garden. He noticed tadpoles within it and used to throw in morsels of bread from his sandwich to feed them. The tadpoles would swarm around the bread and eat it. He also a noticed a crow that would often watch him during his lunch break. He was surprised one day to find that the crow was bringing pieces of bread and dropping them in the pond. The crow would then feast on the tadpoles attracted by the bread.

[@Daniel-fc2xi]

"How many of you used your Hippocampus this morning?" One lady puts her hand up. Guess she drove everyone.

[@jiu-jitsuinaction3766]

Bwahahahaha!

[@JennRighter]

I immediately noticed that and almost spit my drink laughing. She didn't even notice that she was the only person in the entire crowd that knew what the hippocampus was.

[@uselessdegenerate7565]

Jenn Righter it's not that,it's just that it was a rhetorical question,obviously ppl weren't just going to start putting their hands up.

[@realeyes8199]

LOL

[@MomoKunDaYo]

@@JennRighter yeah you missed the point. Of course everyone uses their hippocampus daily lmao, if anything she probably doesn't know what it is hahah

[@DarkSektori]

Crows/Ravens are remarkable examples of how we know so little about the intelligence of animals.

[@rumplestilskin007]

Barry A. Beautifully articulated; couldn't agree more with your comment

[@TheBongoJeff]

@@borhanuddintv the koran is a biology book?

[@mikesuniverse1789]

I can't wait to see the video that talks about the language of birds being not quite songs or noises but complex messages... the same way these words in this comments section could be described as horizontal lines made with scribbles the complex 'words' of birds could be seen or heard as single notes .

[@bo8504]

We.Are.Animals.Ourselves..

[@anthonyviera958]

Octopus is the best for an animal with no brain they are intelligent

[@Craigdna]

I would always feed these crow peanuts at my workplace in Monterey, California. I would go to the back of one of the adjacent buildings to indulge in a cigarette, and they would hide behind this generator, knowing when I was about to come into view(3 of them). They would immediately jump out in front of me(at a reasonable distance) and Caw Caw Caw. They would scare the bleep out of me. I am not kidding, but it seemed as if after this, they would laugh amongst each other. It was definitely indicative of their jovial like behavior.

[@waterbird91]

YES.......they certainly are interesting to spend time with. They are DELIGHTFUL to hang out with. IF U CAN FIND ONE THAT IS.

[@xycadium]

@Matthew Alkman ive found they love dry dog food. They also like macaroni and cheese with cut up hotdogs.

[@xycadium]

@Matthew Alkman they're scavengers. They eat pretty much anything. Mac n cheese was a 1 time offer and theydid love it. Also gave them steamed shrimp once. Otherwise I stick to dog food and unshelled unsalted peanuts.

[@davidmee4969]

They also like french fries , baked potato scraps , corn bread , scrambled eggs & I've found they really like a little clean bowl of water to wash it down!

[@geoffdearth7360]

@@xycadium They also eat road kill which can't be very clean but buzzards do it.

[@eliharman]

I saw a group of Ravens playing a "ballgame" one winter. One picked up a chunk of ice and carried it aloft. The others would swirl and dive at it until it dropped the ice. Then one of them swooped in and snatched it out of midair. The game continued for quite a while with possession of the ice changing multiple times.

[@MrPendell]

I once saw a pair of ravens work a life and death con on a coyote in a Saskatchewan winter. One of them did the phony injured wing flutter to lure the coyote, and the other one harassed it from the back and sides to keep it distracted. They timed it perfectly to lure the coyote onto a highway just as a vehicle arrived, then both flew expertly and healthily out of the way while the car turned the coyote into raven lunch.

[@paulstandeven8572]

So, the coyote was lunched

[@bsimpson639]

Woooooow. That’s as creepy as it is amazing.

[@lucabernardini3975]

Where were you?

[@MrPendell]

@@lucabernardini3975 probably somewhere between Spiritwood and Glaslyn, if memory serves. This was around 20 years ago now, and the incident always stuck in my mind, although I dont think I really understood at the time that I was seeing something intentional and premeditated, but some of the details have faded.

[@lp9194]

That's heinous.

[@corv1d770]

The image of a crow leading a pack of dogs is utterly hilarious

[@beth-bi9yv]

Not just birds.....octopi also demonstrate a lot of these traits. Very fascinating

[@MickPosch]

What amazes me about the wire trick is not just that she bent it, but that she figured out that the wire COULD be bent. How did she know...nothing she learned in the wild working with sticks could have taught her this.

[@cornixdemetrius7883]

Well, when the wood is wet, you can still break it but not fully, so some fibers will be remaining to allow the stick to be more pliable

[@KayentaRojo]

I know that’s exactly what I was thinking! Most items they would use in the wild would snap if bent like that, but she figured it out very quickly. They are such amazing creatures.

[@BilgePump]

One time i was out in the driveway changing the oil and two crows came down and were demonstrating how to rebuild the engine. No joke.

[@josephstropoli1449]

She googled it

[@AntonioLopez-ki1ku]

@@josephstropoli1449 fr fr?🫢

[@swapshots4427]

I had a rescue crow. He was very intuitive and he expressed incredible loyalty/appreciation when I sent him away.

[@angelinabrown2931]

I love crows. They're smart and amazingly inventive. But what I love most about them is the care they lavish on their offspring. A young crow spends years with its parents, being protected and taught. Gotta love that. Besides, carrion eaters serve a VERY useful purpose. For that reason, I also love vultures.

[@zephyr4254]

vultures are criminally underrated. I love those guys so much.

[@tomk4t]

I worked at a Frito Lay distribution center for a few years. We had all manner of wildlife stop by for a meal on the daily. Crows were always hanging around the site. One particular day, I finished unloading a trailer and moved it. Unbeknownst to me, early when the trailer was opened and parked, a random variety pack of small chips had fallen off and was laying on the loading dock outside. I discovered it immediately when I returned to close the dock door but not before the birds. I watched as the birds hopped around the plastic bag, knowing it was food, but unsure how to open it. Suddenly, a crow swoops in. It looks at the bag, puts one foot on and grabs the bag with its beak, tearing it open with one sharp tug. It shoves it's head into the bag and moves in deeper and deeper before finally emerging with a bag of Doritos. It puts them to the side. It goes in again, ruffles around for a bit and emerges with a bag of chips. It puts them to the side. It goes in a third time emerging with a bag of Crunchy Cheetos. It flies away with the Cheetos. I was so blown away by the Crow's intelligence to open the packaging, and actually know what it wants and have the ability to identify it's preference based on the packaging.

[@kateeverett9481]

I have been feeding a family of crows for over 2 years - every morning was a french omelette and sausage. When I was in the hospital for over a month they did not return the first week or so when I returned even though I called my usual greeting. I have been in an out of the hospital alot this past year and Covid of course changed a lot out there - I put food out and explained that I had been sick, so that is why I wan't feeding them. The next day I found a berry that had a pit in it, they aite a little and left it where I usually put food. I was skeptical but then it happened later that day again. I have received 'gifts' of moss (3x), something that looked like a piece of concrete or probably a very dried up road kill part. I was taken to the hospital and the ambulance came last month - the crows gathered up on the telephone pole. I came back home hours later and there, in the place where I feed them was a rather large crow feather. The come to the birdbath top we put on a picnic table and they look this way and that and then they get in there and splash around. If I come outside they tend to wait until I go back in, they stay up in the tree and let me know they are there - but they are so fascinating.

[@ArthurMoore-ii8nn]

Most pet owners already know this. Not sure why so many people think animals are just moving potatoes with no logic or emotional abilities.

[@BoomerTelly]

Agree but laughed so much at "moving potatoes"

[@tonithatcher]

Because that is what they themselves are [people who think that animals are just organic machines], no more than potatoes who can not envision anything else. People often find it hard to imagine anything more than what they themselves are, and so when they accuse others of something, it is usually exactly what they are. It's called 'projection'.

[@ElectricChaplain]

@@tonithatcher Apparently you didn't watch the video. Are you sure _you're_ not the moving potato?

[@luskart]

@Matthew Alkman I get what you're saying, but we're still the most succesful and adaptive species on the planet, and I don't see it changing anytime soon...

[@vincentlaw1415]

Yeah but most pet owners think like that out of a silly reason. You can come to right conclusions without addressing the real reason

[@kyb5203]

There was one crow at my old elementary school who had an obsession with ritz crackers, I would never see him eat anything else, he would occasionally be found dragging around full sized packs too heavy for him to carry, he did this for a minimum of 8 years I believe he is still kicking

[@music79075]

Remember reading a story about some guy who made a vending machine that would dispense nuts and other assorted foods if a quarter went in. He put the quarter in in front of some crows and then gave them the food. The crows started bringing quarters and putting them in themselves to get food. Dunno how much money the guy made but damn.

[@garygayler4445]

My favorite pet. Called him Cro-magnum. And yes, he was awesome. And brilliant beyond reason. I found him after abandoning the nest (too hot, I think). His eyes were still blue and he imprinted on me. I never caged him. I let him go wherever he pleased. I miss him to this day.

[@wind0wel]

*2014*: John Marzluff talking about crows *2064*: Crows talking about John Marzluff

[@josephk6907]

I used to drive to work with a young Native guy - very funny and full of stories - who told me that a falcon follows him everywhere he goes. I picked him up one morning and he said he was talking to the falcon whilst waiting for me - I laughed as usual. Taking a wide loop onto the freeway, he said, "See, I told you, he follows me everywhere" and pointed out the window to a falcon that was banking with us, about 30ft out. It stayed with us for a while and then left us. I saw that falcon several times in our morning travels.

[@azlztl]

I want a falcon shadow!

[@Darkest-Light]

"Be my eyes, Senu!"

[@celticwarrior777]

Wow

[@yahwea]

i personally witnessed one event with crows after a car hit one and I pulled it off the road across from my home. I have a photo, there was a red cone on the curb for soe reason. For 3 hours thereafter, crows came, circled, landed and took off, as if to confirm the death and say farewell, i thought. Since it involved so many crows, i found it amazing. The second was observing two crows communicating. It was just that obvious they were communicating. I am crow convinced

[@WolfFireheart]

Maybe they were checking the dead crow to see what killed it. I don't know, but considering how smart they are, maybe?

[@karenf9137]

Many, many years ago, even before I was born, my father worked at Sears in Philadelphia. He was young and single. One day while at work, he found an injured crow outside that couldn't fly, so it took it home. His whole family loved animals, and luckily, his step-father was a veterinarian. They named the crow "Blackie" (if I remember correctly), nursed him back to complete health, tamed him, taught him to talk, and, oh yes, he loved to ride in the car. Then my dad met and married my mother, but she wasn't too keen on the crow even though she is also an animal lover - there may have been a little competition in the mix. While mom and dad were on their honeymoon, the bird flew the coop. A few weeks went by and an article appeared in the newspaper that told the story of a guy who found a talking crow in a town many miles away from my dad's house. He never pursued the crow for fear no one would believe it was his. As children, we loved to hear this story told by our parents, though mom's version was a bit less enchanting than dad's. My father ALWAYS insisted that many animals' intelligence is vastly underestimated.

[@janellehoney-badger6525]

Your Dad is right, animal intelligence is underestimated, the more I learn & witness in each animal, the more I want everyone on Earth to understand it too. If only others would have that mutual respect for all living things. (Note: I'm certainly no leftwing or greens supporter, I have commonsense)

[@roronoazorro7052]

a lovely fascinating story 😊

[@AcrylicGoblin]

It worked out for you, but I might have found a new girlfriend.

[@kathieburchett]

You are so right about that. People should try to be more understanding of animals.

[@karenf9137]

@@kathieburchett Agree. Ty.

[@leonieschollmeyer6825]

Crows definetely have a sense of humor. They like to sit on the wall just outside my dogs reach and taunt them. And laugh at them when they go mad. Also saw them hunting together. We have a small fish pond, where the crows come to to wash their food. When they found the fish, one would hold a piece of mango skin into the water with his beak, while the other would hide behind und try catch the fish when it comes to nibble. Haven't seen them being successful, but they're working on it.

[@Pamelaandjoulepii]

We found a little crow in the backyard, it was slightly injured and it’s parents stayed nearby. It was like they brought the baby to us . We took care of Frankie ( little blue eyes)till we could bring it to the wildlife centre. His parents are watching and waiting every day for him , and when he’s ready the wildlife people said we can release Frankie back to his parents. Incredible birds!!!

[@davuse02]

I'm 70 yo now and I can remember that my old dead uncle once told me that crows could count to three. If three hunters walked into a tree line and two walked out, the crow would know that there was one still in the trees. However, if four hunters walked into the tree line and three walked out, the crow would not understand that there was one still unaccounted for.

[@roronoazorro7052]

wow That is very wise knowledge. Even scientists wont be aware of. Thanks for sharing

[@dennisbecraft1303]

I'm 73 & recall an experiment I read about in an experimental psychology course 50 years ago. Crows can count reliably up to 7 if taught by repeatedly arranging treats in a line and gluing them down except every 7th one. They learn not to even try to eat the 6 in between. The natural variation in intelligence of crows, desirability of the reward, number of repetitions, length of food deprivation, the tested crow's treat preferences, distractions in the environment, test design etc. all impact the results, so a great many influences may need to be controlled when varying only one at a time to detect & quantify their impact on the results. You would be amazed to find how much experimental & other studies have been done on something as esoteric as the counting capacity of a particular species of birds.

[@Cliff00936]

I wish he would have shown a video clip of a crow sliding down a snowy roof top using a bottle cap.

[@erik_raven]

I love that clip! I sent it to one of my friends -- he's a bird photographer -- and he said he's seen it a few times.

[@thehipsta]

I love that clip, it does it just for fun

[@janellehoney-badger6525]

Same here, so cool

[@gushutchinson8758]

My pet magpie,Jason,would most mornings follow me the two miles to the train station then follow my slow school train until it sped up at the signal box . The magical part was how often he would meet me off the train coming back !! Some trick that,....So many mad little Jason stories, he was so full of suprises ,very playful ,cheeky and occasionally broke our human laws but I won`t go there for fear of incriminating myself as his accomplice 45 years later. All I can say is I tried to find the victims of his most valuable heists !

[@2012Beckster]

You are very privileged to have had such a wonderful friend. I absolutely love crows but they are VERY wary of humans - probably because people seem to have a need to hunt them. I envy you.

[@justinjacobs1501]

I love that about crows. They have a sense of kindness and generosity. They remember kind acts and return the act in kind.

[@CLEFT3000]

Hahahaha awwww Jason I want to meet him

[@CLEFT3000]

Are maggies classes as a crow species?

[@celticwarrior777]

What a great memory to have

[@SunraeSkatimunggr]

I worked at a motel once, which had a large percentage of employees working in housekeeping who spoke spanish over hand radios. The crows in the area use to "call" speaking spanish, including the crackle at the end of the radio call.

[@celticwarrior777]

Haha wow

[@Picca65]

Haha, i love them. I had a sparrow who did violinconcerts, so cool

[@777noirkat]

For 7 years a crow that was healed and released who learned "hello" continues to greet,recognize & and enjoy feedings on our school campus -very special

[@andrewduke1489]

I once watched a crow skiing down the pitch of a metal roof. At the bottom it would hop back to the top and ski down again. Brilliant.

[@timsvea5980]

Working at a restaurant, one of my tasks is bringing out food waste to the dumpster. The local crows love me!

[@SonnyKnutson]

+Tim Svea Thought you had regulations for throwing away food? To prevent homeless people to spread diseases? You didn't specify how you threw it away I guess :P I read it as you just throw it in an open container.

[@chesterfinecat7588]

Zeleene Your first concern is "homeless people to spread diseases?"

[@carolyndobry785]

Curwensville really have facial recognition and the ability to tell other Corbin's about you so I guarantee you they know your face and they probably have a name for you and there Crow language

[@Volvith]

Same thing with a friend of mine. Baker's assistant, who used to take out discarded bread and pastries, stuff that they couldn't sell, and throw it away. He ended up feeding the crows from time to time, and he had more than enough to feed them most of the time. Thing is, in the end so many Crows flocked to that alley that he had to stop feeding because of public disturbance (It think that's what it's called in English?), and to this day, he swears they understood why he stopped feeding them because he has been doing the same thing again for about a year now, and there are never more than a handful of Crows. Not once more than 8, and if i have to believe him, pretty much never less either. Seriously, don't underestimate the intelligence of these little creatures.

[@dgphi]

Don't give them avocado. It is toxic to them.

[@johnbee7729]

There is a crow at Hope for Wildlife in Seaforth Nova Scotia. It will happily say Hello to anyone who ever interacts with it. I think he entertained me for a good 20 minutes just the two of us saying Hello to eachnother. Now of course I try and practice Hello with all the crows where I live. Sadly no luck.

[@sarahs.9340]

Get so mad when I see people shooting them, one of the most fascinating animals, ever. Their social structure with eachother is amazing. In fact, I have some crow friends that come each day to the house & I give them peanuts. When they see me, they come flying toward me. ❤

[@arrowsaurus7561]

I know! I got a crow caller to observe them closer an make friends with them, turns out almost all people use it for the sake of shooting those beautiful birds

[@Boomer1156]

Some consolation lve heard from shooters (l dispise shooters) iss they are extremly difficut to shoot, some say as soon as you start to raise your arms holding a rife they are off...l hope that is true....why on Earth would anyone want to shoot one?

[@DigitalFumbles]

Some corvids, at least Magpies, are also among the few species on the planet capable of recognizing their own reflection.

[@saltarmycrusader353]

There is a video here on YT, of a couple who have actual documented footage of a Crow, befriending and practically playing surrogate, raising a motherless stray Kitten. And not just crossing paths one day,. but over the course of some time. The Kitten just showed up in their yard one day when very young,. and before they even gave it much thought as to wondering where it's mother could be,. or if it was alone and even capable of surviving,.. a Crow came out of nowhere,. and approached the kitten,. the Kitten seemingly acknowledged it as if it already knew the bird. They actually started playing together,. and walking around the yard,. then the couple witnessed the Crow actually digging up worms and feeding them to the Kitten as it lay there patiently in the grass. It was absolutely amazing! They would walk around the yard together,.. the Kitten would hop up on a block wall,.. the crow followed,. and they just strolled around like a couple of buddies. Even rough play at times,. once the Kitten did a tackle roll and flipped with the crow at it's belly,. rolled out of it and released,. the crow just hopped around as if He liked it and came back for more LOL,. and w/o hurting the bird at all. They kitten would very gently wave it's paw around, the crow would peck at it and hop around playfully ,.. and both would go about their day, the Kitten lazing around and playing in the grass,. and this Motherly Crow,.. PREENING It,. while the Kitten laid back and enjoyed. A Crow, who evidently saw a starving lonely kitten one day,. and said,.. "Ok,.. this is My Life now". FIND THE VIDEO,. It's truly an awesome experience.

[@crism3lo]

I read many comments here. Not much surprises me since I know animal sentience and cognition is by far beyond our comprehension. They are wise, use telepathy and recognize us after years. They are just like us but so much better. That said, I wish that researchers noticed the rest of nature, independent of brain size. IDK how big or small insect brains are but I interact around the water faucet with bees, wasps, hornets...they not only respect me but I know they know me. They never sting. It's been 3.5 years, only got stung by my own fault - accidentally. You can talk to insects. Dogs read our brains and we can talk to them through mental pictures. I believe all fauna/flora communication with humans has levels we are missing. We simply can't tap into it. Many people don't even know or notice. Animal communication videos here on YT are amazing. We all have abilities we don't even know about. Life is amazing...if only we all knew....animals are wise teachers here to assist us. We kill them. We eat them. It's so very sad.

[@josephstropoli1449]

Agree with you 100%

[@muktharubarify1]

I admire crow...This is most fascinating creature among the birds

[@supersiem1431]

Owls too

[@MarySanchez-qk3hp]

Corvids are exceptionally intelligent. I'm a wildlife rehabilitator and if I get an orphaned young corvid, I start phoning around to see which other rehabbers might have a corvid foster parent, or at least a role model to watch and talk with, to raise them to be wild corvids. The orphan can imprint on me in just hours... stunning, and not good at all.

[@DWinegarden2]

First Nations elders told me that there is a strange thing about Crows, Jays and Ravens because when one crow sees you do something all of the other crows will know that as well. They share information amongst themselves, from a distance. It’s amazing to see crows watching you when you think they all remember everything about you that other crows learned.

[@cocobos]

And they also can fly

[@fotm07]

source?

[@wompbozer3939]

Fake comment

[@chrisvasquez1064]

Preposterous

[@bishaldey5339]

illuminati

[@andresgagge6977]

They can even surf the wind apparently

[@lazur1]

I've seen a charm of finches hold a funeral for a dead member. They regularly congregated on our gutter, and conducted what could almost be called a military send-off when we moved away, a beautiful formation off of the gutter that they'd never done before.

[@takedshineov3366]

I feed some local crows. I have a few regulars to the garden now. A pair of magpies, a pair of hooded crows and a solo raven.On windy days, one of the hooded fellas has taken to doing some stunt flying the garden area when he sees me at the back window. Usually, it's just a sweeping fly by within my eye line, like he is showing off and saying hello. Makes me laugh when I see it.

[@GrowLLLTigeRRR]

I had a crow friend living with me for 30 years. I miss him.

[@bsimpson639]

GrowLLLTigeRRR A friend told me today that the crows in the woods at my childhood home “know” me. I had never heard this before. It is a gift to know it now, because my family have almost all passed on, and I’m living here as the last one. Now I know that the crows here are probably the “grandchildren” of those here when I was a child. I hope another crow finds you, maybe that one’s offspring.

[@GrowLLLTigeRRR]

@@bsimpson639 Thanks B Simpson. I would like that.

[@chaunceymcT]

I KNEW IT! A few years ago I was walking downtown, and I looked up at this Crow and he was looking straight at me. And something, I don't know what it was, there was intent on this Crow's face or something, but I just knew he was going to try and poop on me. I kept walking but I side stepped, and I DODGED A POOP! In disbelief I looked at the poop that I narrowly dodged, and then back up at the Crow. The Crow cawed, almost like he was pissed off that he missed, and flew away. I've told people this story many times and only been scoffed at. Now I'm convinced that, that Crow fully intended on pooping on me, and was pissed off that he missed. LOL!!

[@apachemimi9762]

Point?? ..?

[@miguelk.705]

i've seen a video of a crow instigating a fight between two cats. it was very clear what the little troll was doing

[@lisakennett2774]

Last year I was waiting on my taxi to go to the hospital to get my first baby scan and a crow came on my window sill screaming so thought that was strange but I went to the hospital and they baby was found with out a heart beat, lost that baby so two months later fell pregnant again same Waiting on my taxi , a crow came screaming I went to the hospital and lost that baby to,, I found that very strange in it happening twice in two months moments before my baby scans x

[@alfredrice4863]

It’s been said certain crows in snow bound areas have jumped up and Down on awnings to make snow slide off on people getting a kick out of people’s reactions . Crown also like to ski on roof tops using flat pieces of wood

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

Muldoon: That's right, but they never attack the same place twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses, systematically. They remember. This made me think of the velociraptors in Jurassic Park.

[@uselessdegenerate7565]

Bonnie Hundley pretty sure birds are related to velociraptors bud

[@picapica201]

@@uselessdegenerate7565 I would guess they made the movies _based on_ the known behaviour of the birds.

[@bobthompson4319]

The way they move is so cool to me

[@cam_DA_Hawkdriver]

I have long known that crows can count. We did an experiment on this over the years. My theory is they can count to three. We would get mixed results above three. My buddies and I tried this at a hunting lodge would see group of crows regularly. One of our adjacent buildings allowed us to experiment doing this. We would each walk into the building a few minutes apart. The crows were always apprehensive of us, sitting back to see that the coast is clear. One day we decided to have an extra take part from our group. The crows saw him go in where we normally send three. Their routine would be to swoop in and eat from left overs after they saw the coast was clear. Our fourth guy came out about the time they swooped in, startling them. We would try this off and on, they would always get it right with three, but not four. Crows count to three :)

[@frisianmouve]

It was pretty funny to me when i was feeding a few pigeons in a park. After a while a crow caught on and he was sitting on a lantern pole next to the bench. Now many times i threw food a bit away from the pigeons and while they were walking the crow glided in and stole it before the pigeons reached the food. He was just overseeing the feeding and gliding in whenever he saw an opportunity

[@apotheosis6614]

One day i was walking home from school. There are a lot of birds in my area, so birds sounds are pretty common. This one day however, there were very loud crow sounds. As I continued walking I was looking where these sounds came from. When I finally found the source, I stood there, surprised, with a slight smile on my face. These crow sounds came from a group of 3 crows, this group of crows was actually attacking a cat which was hunting for birds. As I continued watching this phenomenton, eventually, the cat got scared and ran off.

[@jan2bratt]

Thanks for sharing this talk, very interesting but not a surprise to me. years ago when I had chickens, crows were coming into the coop and eating their laying mash, which was rather expensive. One day I managed to catch one inside the coop and I held it in my hands, she was calm and didn't try to bite me. I told her to stop coming in and eating that food. Then I let her go, unhurt. I never had another crow come inside the coop to take food. Now I feed them daily on my walks. I love the crows.

[@Grashnook]

There's a guy on KZbin that has a pet Raven. He always advises against others owning them. Apparently they're intelligent enough to do things out of pure spite.

[@heatherhent4445]

I watch him. He's a mess and hilarious.

[@brandtmccall5184]

Very interesting, Crows are very special, I have lots of positive stories about them like many people do since we are surrounded by them in our cities. I have found they make good neighbors and they like to interact with nice people.

[@DavidCurrey4]

Excellent video. On the subject of birds having fun, I recall when I was a kid in Lake Charles, Louisiana, back around 1960, I would observe killdeers in the evening soaring to great heights and then diving and swooping to within 30 feet of the ground or so. I could discern no purpose for that behavior, and finally decided they were just having fun.

[@JinxMarie1985]

Crows are sacred. They are brilliant, beautiful and very intelligent animals. I love watching them eat.

[@sandesievert868]

Recently I saw a dead raven lying at the base of a juniper tree in the park near where I live. Perched in that tree and the tree next to it were other ravens. I had the impression that they were there congregating to mourn the loss of one of their family members. Instead of perching high up in the tallest tree or telephone pole they were on the low hanging branches of the trees. They did not move as I passed by.

[@penylayne]

Learning without making a mistake because they saw someone else make it, so they didn't?! They're smarter than a lot of ppl I've known(sadly including me)! Lol

[@bobwoww8384]

Most of humanity probably 😎

[@roku3216]

I've watched ravens playing in the updraft formed on the slope of a large building's metal roof. They take turns at one special spot and leap into the wind and hang there seeing who can maintain it the longest. Also saw a group of them doing it on a snowy slope. In the same area, I observed a huge female taking possession of a dumpster and only let her favorite males come and select a treat while she watched. She wasn't eating, she was paying her gigolos!

[@Staminist-MMF-80]

Today I just learned that crows have dual core CPU - each eye has control of a task! Wow!

[@pamelamolina5623]

Amazing. I heard recently about a crow that learned to ask strangers on a train platform “how are you” and getting responses that included being fed

[@StephanieElizabethMann]

I lived next door to people who owned a cat. The crows hated the cat and would swoop and dive on it all day so much that the cat couldn't pass urine at all when outside. We told the owner of the cat what was happening. They ignored our warning and chased off the crows. It wasn't long until the crows hated our neighbours too. I always greeted the crows with a pleasant hello and they never bothered me and were unafraid in our backyard.

[@Sippy309]

All birds are intelligent especially crows. I love all birds.

[@pilgrim3387]

I spotted a crow trying to get a stick into the eves of a garage obviously building a nest. He was holding it sideways and it was to wide to fit into the hole. He flew down onto a smaller shed and turned the stick around so it was facing out like someone smoking. He tried to get it into the hole but the stick was to long. The crow then flew back down onto the shed and proceeded to break the stick more or less in half and flew up and put the pieces into the hole. Very clever.

[@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530]

A few years back I was eating lunch outside at the school where I worked. I noticed a herring gull in the parking lot pecking at a potato chip bag trying to get some chips out. He would pick it up and drop it, then peck it several times, then get frustrated and peck it over and over. Only a very small amount of chips came out each time he messed with it. Finally, he got tired of trying and flew off. About 5 seconds later, a crow came down from a nearby tree, picked up the bag from the bottom, and shook all of the chips out of the bag. He began eating the chips quickly, but the gull spotted him and came back down, chased the crow away, and finished off the chips. The crow was so much smarter, but unfortunately in the end it was a matter of brawn over brains.

[@elaines5750]

Naaah, still brains over brawn. The crow had enough to eat and figured if the brawny gull wanted the rest, let him have it. No point in wasting all that energy over a bag of chips :)

[@victoriakraft6055]

Thank you from a person who talks and adores crows🤗

[@mavensophie]

Wow, one of the best TED talks ever, thank you so very much. I don't just appreciate crows more, I have a new appreciation for all of life. thank you.

[@jeansg9670]

I have two exemple of how smart and thy like to have fun. First; I was walking in the town of Dawson Yukon. I was hearing construction tools but nobody was on the sit. Searching the sounds came from? Here is a crown atop the light post over me!!! Second; was in Haida Gwaii , saw crows having fun sliding down a slope alongside the road. I stop near but not to close observer and when I wanted to take out my phone to video they stop and flew to a far enough Tree. Put back my phone, they came back and continue sliding!! I ride a bicycle all day long so I talk to then they fly near me.

[@drobb4207]

Recently the city of Boston Mass commissioned a study as to why so many crows were being killed by trucks. After a great deal of money and study they found the crows could not say "TRUCK" . They could only say "CAA CAA CAA" . Some crows once saved two of my free range chickens by informing me of the presence of a hawk. When I got out to the front porch the hawk had a chicken in it's talons 20 feet in the air flying off. I clapped my hands loudly and the hawk dropped the chicken who survived the ordeal and lived a long life. Quite often the Blue Jays inform me if something is amiss.

[@lukavignjevic719]

'Who here have used your hippocampus this morning?' One woman raises her hand... XD

[@pretheeshgpresannan4172]

I wonder how does she know it for sure ☺️

[@slappy420usa]

is it possible theyre using the bark "wind surf boards" as a means of changing their focus from the normal or survival function that their wings provide, to focus on sensory input from the feet that the surf board provides, allowing the wings to relax a bit as they play with the wind in a new way, instead of wings providing all the uplift and directional control the surf board provides a new maneuvering surface that can alter and with skill compliment their wings creating a new sensory input not provided by nature. I am sure birds are aware of their legs when they are flying, i have seen hawks and falcons drop one leg almost as a dive flap to create drag and allow minute adjustments as they track a prey item, i however have never seen a bird introduce a new flight control surface that is manipulated with their legs alone. I can see a very clear parallel with children learning to throw a ball, or playing a video game where the tactile focus is on the hands and fingers instead of say day to day walking or running that we do without thinking. Curiosity implies intelligence, it gives on new perspective on the world we live in to realize we're not the only ones experiencing this single reality in a deep and meaningful way, which I believe is the purpose of life, to be alive and to manifest the infinite potential possible in our beautiful reality.

[@libertas57]

Agree entirely.

[@Kirkunik1]

I was at a stop light in a low traffic area. While I was waiting for the light to change in the left turning lane. ...I noticed a crow sitting in the middle of the lane across the intersection. The light changed for the forward going traffic. A car came down the road toward the crow. He waited until the last minute before flying away safely. He went to the sidewalk where a group of three crows were hanging out. After the car went by....another crow went and sat on the same spot. Another car came...and just like the last crow....he flew away at last minute. There was nothing in the road. They weren't pecking at anything to eat. It appeared they were playing "chicken" (as crows lol). My light changed and as I glanced over....another crow was on his way to the lane to wait for a car. Incredible.

[@scmac5155]

I’ve noticed with many crows scavenging on the highway that when I get close to them with my vehicle they wait til the last second and then hop just across the white line on the side of the road to get out of the way, as if they know vehicles don’t usually come across that line - I think it scares me more than it scares them that they’ll get hit

[@AlgisKemezys]

It makes me so pleased I am friends with a few of these birds.

[@alonealotta]

me too~TY for sharing this Algis~☼~

[@AlgisKemezys]

Thanks Mystic D.

[@AlgisKemezys]

+katrinalol Food glorious food.

[@crowstrive1426]

Algis Kemezys I'm planning on doing the same thing this spring !

[@alvaroakatico9188]

I live in the woods, sort of speak, and take walks regularly. These birds follow me and watch, I just know it. I'm going to put on a Nixon mask next time and see what happens.

[@BothHands1]

I love Corvids so much

[@michelebriere9569]

I witnessed a crow funeral, once. A crow was dead in the street, I assume hit by a car, and three crows were marching around it. First one way, then turned to march the other way. I tried to move the body to the side of the road, get them out of traffic, but one of the birds leapt at me with a warning craw, so I left them alone. They were gone about ten minutes later when I looked out my window.

[@valayagaudet7182]

Just this morning, I was marveling yet again at how smart crows are. When I take my two dogs on walks, there is a trail that ends at a large boulder. My dog Finn likes to climb to the top of it. I have noticed that the crows love to swoop down ( a foot from Finn) and tease him. If there is just one crow to start with, he/she caws to call the buddies to come tease my dog. I could swear the birds have a smile on their face when they do this! I love watching them.

[@joesmith942]

I watched two crows chase a squirrel down the middle of a street. When the squirrel tried to go right, the right crow would dive at him and herd him back to the middle. If he went left, same thing from the other crow. They absolutely terrorized that squirrel for two blocks, kept him right in the middle of the street.

[@stefanodogg280]

LOVE Crows and Ravens. As a child we raised a baby crow, at one year he/she left to join a passing flock, but came back the next year to visit, and hopped onto my little sister's knee. Since that time I've learned that our last name is Norman in origin, the name of a knight who fought at Hastings, 1066. So, my Norse ancestors flew the Raven banner!

[@reginaphalange9417]

12:00 this is close to the original behavior of ravens which not only play in group, but are known to drop in midair and then resume their flight, just for fun, to have a rush of endorphins

[@jabbersart6218]

Australian Magpies, Magpie Larks and Ravens never cease to amaze me. During swooping season i've seen magpies and larks swooping cars on highways in groups, as if they're showing off who is the best male. I have a female australian magpie in my garden who has learned to come down when i'm hosing my garden (We're in a drought) i'll move the hose over to her and she has a content bath, rings raised, she even gets on her back because we've been hanging out for over a year. When I'm digging up the garden, she follows me around because i toss her cockroaches and grubs....I think she's told the family what I do, because i feed them alot and they always sing a song for me after a big meal. they're truly amazing animals. Edit: I'm a wildlife carer, so i dont feed them in excess, and when i do feed them its meat with calcium powder. never feed a bird bread, cat/dog food or plain meat.

[@gachitadamunga2403]

When I perish carry my spent carcass into the mountains and desert it on some airy knoll that these elegant scoundrels may be well fed amongst my bones.

[@quietstorm5304]

Gachitadamunga that was deep!

[@tmr4342]

+Gachitadamunga I've had that exact same thought myself :)

[@melcooper2470]

"elegant scoundrels"- lovely and apt !

[@kelhawk1]

Excellent idea! Thanks for sharing that.

[@abyp1883]

Isnt there a community that actually does that? In Iran or something. Parsi or zorashtrans. Someone. They actually give up their dead body to be eaten by birds...or animals. Strange...but at least useful. But then even if you dont do anything, a dead body is useful in any case. If you bury it in the coffin, something eats them anyway. You burn them, that has some benefits too i guess.

[@Mooondoggy]

We must embrace the crows as our brothers and bridge lines of communication

[@swill1020]

I live in Fresno, California. A small town called Clovis had a guy that had trained a crow to steal mail from mailboxes. Eventually they were caught. A lady I had met was an expert on the handling of predator birds during their rehab. The crow was considered a convicted felon. The man went to prison and the court didn’t know what to do with the crow. The court reached out to this lady to see if she would care for the bird. Today she is only allowed to fly the bird with a long tether.

[@keko4618]

Once in Finnish Lapland I started collecting berries on open mountaintop. Raven came and watched my doings. It started collecting little stones, kept a while and then dropped. To my eyes, it was imitating my berriecollecting.