Intellignce of Crows

I am a big fan of corvids, though I admit to limited first had experience with them. There have been a myriad of studies testing their intelligence, as well as books written about it. Some researchers claim that crows may be more intelligent than primates or dolphins. They are capable of complex thought, projection, they have self awareness. Additionally, they are capable of misdirection. In other words, they try to trick each other when hiding (caching) food.

I recently found this article from National Geographic.

Savage's book, Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys of the Avian World (October 2005), explores the burgeoning field of crow research, which suggests that the birds share with humans several hallmarks of higher intelligence, including tool use and sophisticated social behavior.

The shared traits exist despite the fact that crows and humans sit on distinct branches of the genetic tree.

Humans are mammals. Crows are birds, which Savage calls feathered lizards, referring to the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs.

"I'm not positing there's anything mythological about this or imagining crows are in any way human," she said.

"But whatever it is that has encouraged humans to develop higher intelligence also seems to have been at work on crows."

They go on to talk about how crows make and use tools, how they are spontanious problem solvers, and how they use trickery to fool one another.

Savage also discusses Swiss zoologist Thomas Bugnyar's research showing how a raven named Hugin learned to deceive a more dominant raven named Mugin into looking for cheese morsels in empty containers while Hugin snuck away to raid full containers.

"This shady behavior satisfies the definition of 'tactical', or intentional, deception and admits the raven to an exclusive club of sociable liars that in the past has included only humans and our close primate relatives," Savage writes in her book.

Another area of crow research that may indicate higher intelligence is how crows learn and use sound. Preliminary findings suggest that family groups develop their own sort of personal dialects, according to Savage.

If you are interested in crows and their complex social interactions, it is worth the read. It does make me think twice car hawking them with the harris' hawks.

Read the rest here.

Crows in the Trees

When I got home from work this afternoon, there was a ruckus in the trees near the hawks cage. The birds have been fat, their crops full. I hope that the birds were okay.


I rounded the corner of the shed and verified that the hawks were fine.
Blue Jays were calling back and forth and I could see them swarming around the top of a live oak.

Two crows swooped in and circled the center of the commotion. It looked like the crows were possibly raiding the jays nest.

I moved closer to get a picture, but the birds were obviously more afraid of me than of each other and fell silent.


The crows secreted themselves away, weaving low through the trees. One of the jays giving a final kak as he gave a brief chase.

I know that there is a crows nest some where back in the woods. I would love to find out where it is.

Crows are cool creatures. They are right there at the top of the list for intelligent creatures. They have been observed using tools, they are believed to have a culture of sorts, as well as their own language, that goes beyond simple vocalizations.



Keep an eye on your local crows. There are myriads of stories of people who have raised orphaned crows to become cool pets. I never have, but would love to try. Unfortunately, in the U.S. this is an illegal endeavor.