The Intelligence Of Crows

The behavior of these birds has been the subject of scientific studies. It is that, among other things, they are able to steal food from other congeners, create tools and even imitate some human sounds.

Belonging to the order of passerines, this great black bird is known to gain, over time, qualifications of all kinds. The truth is that more and more scientific studies are devoted to verifying your reasoning ability. Today, we’ll talk then about the intelligence of crows.

Meet these smart birds

Protagonists of horror stories, inseparable companions of witches or synonymous with bad luck and good luck, these birds are being subjected to more and more investigations that prove what the attentive human always knew: they are extremely intelligent.

The largest of the passerines (measure between 54 and 67 centimeters) is an animal that knows how to adapt to circumstances. 

Furthermore, everything seems to indicate that he notices many things without having to run the trial and error of the test.

And, it seems, he always solves challenges, including when he’s taken by surprise.

It’s even able to bypass the devices scientists create to prove how cunning it is.

Birds with high neuronal density

And to top it off, these birds prove that brain size is consistent with intelligence. Although their brain mass is the largest of its order,  their reasoning ability is considered superior to that of primates and that of an eight-year-old child.

In fact, at least in the case of these winged beings, size is unimportant . But  neuronal density is.

In the book  Ravens: Encounters with the wise men of the avian world , which the writer Candace Savage published in 2005, it is suggested that these animals  share with humans characteristics that speak of their intelligence. Among them, the use of tools and sophisticated social behavior.

This demonstrates the intelligence of the crows.

Distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, these birds  use their legs and their long, thick and robust beaks to carry out the decisions made by their brain.

So they  create and use tools regularly and in complex sequences, something that was only attributed to people. And, for example, they are able to turn a straight piece into a hook to extract food from certain containers.

In a scientific investigation published in the journal  Nature , zoologist Alex Kacelnik highlighted that the crows of New Caledonia (Oceania) are born with this knowledge. This means that they have a genetic component that explains how they act.

For Kacelnik, these birds  have a high level of logical reasoning, advance planning and creativity  that, as a rule, is only associated with human beings.

The crows, winged manipulators

In social interactions, the intelligence of crows is manifested in the ability to manipulate. In a study conducted by biologist Bernd Heinrichel (University of Vermont), it was established that adults and youth use different strategies to feed on carrion.

Young animals recruit their conspecifics (other animals of the same species) and thus seek to avoid competition with other scavengers.

Instead, adults remain silent to avoid attracting attention.

It has also been observed that  crows make other animals work for them.

It is common for them to call wolves and coyotes the place where there is carrion. Is that, after the action of the jaws of carnivores, access to food is easier.

Furthermore, it has been established that they  watch where other crows hide their food and, thanks to their excellent memory, they remember the data and then steal it.

And in some cases it has been seen how they leave nuts on the roads so that passing cars break their shells.

More details about these wonderful birds

Another interesting fact is the ability of these birds to play. It is common to see young specimens gliding through the snow, apparently just for fun.

They also love to play with other animal species. Also, their custom of “stealing” some shiny objects is known.

This curiosity about new things, crows often lose when they become adults.

Finally, it only remains for us to  say that these intelligent animals only “need to speak”. 

Well, some mimic some human sounds.

But given his intelligence, everything seems to indicate that the last word on this matter has not yet been given. We’ll keep you posted.