Crows are brainier than your average apes

Can somebody explain to me why you like crows?!?! Doesnt make sense to me. They are vultures and scavengers that caws annoyingly. They don't sing, they caw.

I was watching several Grackels in a puddle. Often a few birds would be bathing, while another stood by apparently keeping watch.

Paraheadache has contributed a photo to this story.

Jeff. My answer to why I like them is they are social.  They are smart.  I have had significant contact with them when all other bird species run and hide.   I enjoy watching them maneuver like a SWAT team.   They are not vultures.  My crows eat acorns, worms, insects, seeds.  They are omnivores so they also eat whatever we eat and that also includes road kill.  While this disturbs our sensibilities now, it was not so long ago that human kind did the same.   They are inventive, courageous, and generally filled with the attributes we admire in our own kind.  I like them for what they are, not critical of them for what they are not.  

On another note.  Grackles are found here in abundance.  They are of the same general family, as are Rooks.

A side note:  a form of crow, the Couch, is the national bird of Cornwall.  Legend has it that at the death of Arthur his spirit entered a Couch and wanders the West Country in search of the future King.

You are not alone.  They have a mixed place in European myth. Not so in American Indian where they are the messengers of the Great Spirit.   Get to know them.  You will like them. Just accept them on their own terms, which means do not feed them.  They want to use their minds to get their food.

Count me among the crow-lovers! Where I live, crows dig mussels from the beach and then drop them on the road for cars to run over. Then they hop over to pick out the meat from the broken shell. That's right. Crow not only use tools, they use people as tools.

I would love to have a pet crow, although it is not legal in my community. Did you ever see the Frank Capra film "You Can't Take It with You" with Jean Arthur and James Stewart? A pet crow in that film helps helps people make fire crackers by picking up a label, flying across the room, and giving it to a worker, then back for another label...

I'm curious: What did the crows in Japan sound like?

gatheringwater has contributed a photo to this story.

For the past three years (at least) these same two crows in my pic would visit me every day (five days) at the same time while I was on vacation along the beach at Torry Pines State Park, California. I'd toss them a coupla nuts. They ruled over the Seagulls.

666isMONEY has contributed a photo to this story.

If I put seed outside somehow they are always there within 10 minutes.  They are really great flyers for being big birds.

Guys interested in this story might also like to watch this excellent video:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html

or view more of my crow photos at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyfloyd/sets/72157607266413053/

I live in Istanbul, Turkey and I am member of some photography sharing site. From this sites, I heard about crows are so extended. I am not sure if their counting are really extend, but I am sure they are very active, clever and funny; enjoy with them, when I watch their walking remainds me sparrow:))) But, if we want to compare with sparrow, they are so big and black. So it's hard to take their photographe. And, I know so many people doesn't like crow, they find them scary. I don't scare, I am laughing at them.

viki3412 has contributed a photo to this story.

Crows are very smart birds and they are Gold collectors....yes if you inspect any Crow nest don't surprised to see some shiny metals or jewelry…

Rashed Al Naamani has contributed a photo to this story.

I have heard that a crow never forgets, and people have told me stories about that. I know a guy who found a crow injured and nursed it back to health. He kept that crow for many years and taught it to talk - better than any bird I have ever heard. They are rather brazen. This one allowed me to come within just a few feet from him. You can almost see him keeping an eye on me, and it was only a few seconds later he flew off.

anthonyh2006 has contributed a photo to this story.

I love crows !! They are a beautiful, smart, and funny too ! I love all animals and wildlife , I had a lot of fun taking this picture !

bonnie l pelton has contributed a photo to this story.

A picture a group of crows are working to clean up a cow
Location: state of Oman - The town of Salalah
8-2008

waleed aljanobi has contributed a photo to this story.

I've been fascinated by crows and their antics for years. This fellow was just keeping a (noisy) eye over the neighborhood at the time I took his photo.

We had one of his flock who took offense to our cat sitting under a particular pine tree for some reason. For several weeks, every time the cat went under that one pine tree the crow would fly down to the road in front of the cat, strut back and forth, flap his wings, and just make a racket. Who knows why?

My respect for their intelligence was solidified by just recently reading a terrific book, "In the Company of Crows and Ravens," by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell. It provides a look at the many ways that crows and humans interact. I just find them to be very interesting creatures.

Harry Hunt has contributed a photo to this story.

The picture of the Crow I posted was photographed at Senshu Park in Akita City, Akita-ken, Japan. The reason I took the shot was because of its sheer size. This picture does not do it justice but it was about the size of a small dog.

leftbanke7 has contributed a photo to this story.

I saw this crow carrying food. But foolishly enough it dropped it when it was trying to drink water while still holding the food in his beak. Then he was there for atleast the next 20 mins circling the pond to see how it can get its food back. I don't think he did.

Mr. Mayank Gupta has contributed a photo to this story.

VERY INTERESTING!!!!!

I have a crow story that is too long to tell here. They can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes, but they are incredibly intelligent. They do a great job of taking care of each other, and are very social creatures. There have been many stories over the centuries about crows, and I don't think all those stories are mere accidents. Maybe a little extra imagination, but then, there is still nothing we can ever know about another beings consciousness... so who knows. :)  hehe

I took one of the crow pictures featured here. This guy was having a real go at this coffee cup. After I took the photograph, he flew off - with the cup! I'm not sure, but he was headed in the direction of the coffee shop.

steve.osborne has contributed a photo to this story.

Interesting topic. However loud and annoying they can be on a lazy Sunday morning, they are amazingly intelligent birds!

Nice story.

It reminded me the young age when I was a young student in the Moiniya Islamia School in Ajmer Rajhastan until the end of 1947.

The crows and different type of birds were in that area.The crows seemed to be very clever because whenever myself and friends tried to throw stones the crows used to fly before the stones could hit them.The other birds appeared to be less smart.

This was my observation when I was in the Primary School.I and parents then left for Tonk State in Rajhastan where I took admission in famous Darbar High School Tonk.Then in the year 1948 , our family migrated to Pakistan (First Hyderabad Pakistan and after a few months Karachi)

There also many birds and crows could be seen everywhere.

Since 1973 I am living in the UAE.Here I find only a few crows in Kalba etc.I think in very hot areas,the crows find difficulty to survive. 

Saghier Ahmed Jafri , Editor Urdu Manzil http://www.urdumanzil.com

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