49 Times Crows Were Seen Doing Scarily Smart Things

“There is no universally agreed-on test for "intelligence" across species, but we think of crows and some other animals as particularly smart because they can approach new or unfamiliar problems and often find new solutions,” Anne Clark, professor of Biological Sciences at Binghamton University, told Bored Panda. 

“This is different from just being quick to learn a task such as a dog learning "sit up and beg" for a food item with repetitive rewards. They seem to use a process of "insight" into some problems, understanding the problem per se,” she explained. 

However, there is a limit to what they can solve, notes Clark. “As shown by the crow species, the New Caledonian crow, which makes and uses probing tools in the wild, crows and other animals may not fully understand what they are doing that solves a problem.”

Crows are generalists, omnivores, and highly social creatures living in groups whose members are changing. So they are forced to “adapt” to their fellow crows, whether through cooperative or competitive behavior, which might be the reason why they’re so smart, says Clark.

“If we think about the different kinds of animals that are good problem solvers, they tend to be "generalists" in what they eat or where they live. They specialize in learning new ways to adapt rather than adapting very finely to a single way of life,” she explains.

“They are often omnivores—eating a range of foods—they have a broad range as a species and live in varied environments,” Clark continued. “Usually, these intelligent species are very social (primates, dolphins, and other birds like vultures) and one argument is that living with lots of other individuals selects for "social intelligence," the ability to interpret what others want or are likely to do, to know them as individuals and often to learn from them by some form of observation.”

These intelligent birds can be befriended by offering nutritious food, which gives an opportunity to observe their behaviors and understand them more, says Clark. “They are complex, with lots of communicative behaviors, living in social groups and living a long time, so individual crows get to know you. Different species of crows (there are at least 46-47 around the world...crows and ravens, all one genus, Corvus) have slightly different social grouping patterns.

Some live only in pairs as adults, others like American crows, can have extended family groups on one territory, others, like fish crows, live in larger groups of unrelated birds of many ages, with regularly shifting membership, although pairs may stick together in those groups. So watching crows teaches you a lot about how social animals live without language per se.”

Even though crows can be very social and friendly, there are still things people should avoid doing around them, like trying to get close to their nests. “If crows are yelling at you, you are probably disturbing one of their nests or babies or are near a sick crow that cannot escape,” Clark said. 

In case a person finds a young crow on the ground, they should either leave it (if it’s safe for it) or place it high up on the nearest tree, suggests Clark. “Parent crows will call and even defend. But young crows leave the nest before they fly well and can sometimes find themselves on the ground unable to fly up. Just making sure the youngster is off the ground in a bush or tree will give the parents a chance to call it to move upwards.”

However, don’t get enticed by the idea of bringing a young or even an injured crow home and trying to raise it—it’s illegal to do so in the USA. “You have to have special educational or rehabber permits,” Clark explains. “If need be, call a wildlife rehabilitator to ask what to do or take the injured animal to a vet.”

Something else people should refrain from doing is putting out food for crows that can attract other animals neighbors won’t be fond of, like cats, dogs, rats, foxes, or raccoons. Instead, “Peanuts in shells or dry pet food in small quantities can work,” advised Clark.

Another important point she mentions is that crows get the highly pathogenic avian flu (H5N1). They can be especially susceptible to it if they find food in poultry yards or around waterfowl. “If you find a dead or very sick crow, do not pick it up. But let your health department know. They may be doing surveillance for avian flu,” Clark said.

In winter these birds are quite resilient so extra care for them from people isn’t particularly necessary. “Crows in North America have evolved with winter. They will search widely in flocks for food and gather in roosts for safety in the night. So if they are still around in winter, they are probably finding enough food. In northern parts of the USA, they migrate when it gets deeply snowy,” said Clark.

But out of friendliness or the goodness of your heart, you can still provide a local group of them with high-fat foods, which they’ll be likely to be enticed by in winter.

There’s still a lot more that we can learn about crow behavior, so Clark encourages anyone interested to make video and audio recordings of them. In addition to being a fun activity, the observations and recordings could also be a great help to bird enthusiasts and experts!