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15 Fascinating Facts About Crows

Crows are often considered creatures of bad luck. In most cultures, animals are often associated with death, bad omen, disaster and diseases. However, the animals are fascinating creatures with interesting facts that are unexplored because people often see them as nuisances. This article will explore some fascinating facts about crows to give the reader knowledge that will be instrumental in dispelling the notions that are often associated with crows.

1 Like humans, crows have dialects

It is quite fascinating to discover that crows have different dialects just like human beings. The ‘caw caw’ sounds that they make are of different dialects. The crows also produce other sounds that are usually meant to inform their flock members of their location. The dialects vary from region to region. This means that when a crow changes the region that they normally stay in, it means that they have to learn and adapt to the new dialect so that they can fit in with the new flock.

2 Older crows take care of their siblings

A picture of baby crows in a nest. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Parent crows do not have to worry about taking care of their young alone since they live in family groups. The older crows often come in and protect the parent’s nests during the nesting season while the parent crows go out to look for food. The sibling crows also feed the baby crows directly into their mouths. This is quite fascinating as one does not expect the crows to exhibit behaviours that are often associated with humans.

3 Crows hold a funeral when one of them dies

Crows are highly intelligent creatures and they are known for holding funerals when one of them dies. Whether it is the death of one crow or a group of crows, the crows will gather at the location where the fallen bird is. It has been proved that crows for several days to watch over the dead crow. This shows that the animal possesses some level of emotional intelligence. Another reason why crows hold burials for their kind is to inform others of the danger that place might pose and thus avoid it in future and in doing so avoid meeting the same fate as the dead crow.

4 Crows hold grudges

A picture of a crow. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Research has shown that crows can recognize humans and will often be hostile to people they do not like and be soft to those they trust. Even when someone has a mask on, they have the ability to recognise who it is under the mask. Research by the University of Washington revealed that the team that captured the crows for the research were scolded by the crows and then went further to threaten to claw them. Therefore, it is wise to know that if you plan to play with a crow, you should know that they will not forget it and will hold a grudge.

5 Crows can cause blackouts

Crows were so many in Japan in the 1990s. This can be attributed to the rise in population in Japan which meant that there was a lot of garbage that crows could feast on. The crows will thus increase in population as they have enough food. They further build their nest on power transformers and fibre optic cables. This resulted in power blackouts that the power companies in Japan had to install love nests for the crows that are made with non-conductive resin on company towers so that they do not use the power lines to make nests. The move was successful and the number of blackouts went down drastically.

6 They can make tools

The crow is a unique animal in that it is one of the two animals which is able to craft its own hooks in the wild. The crow is quite resourceful in that it makes the twigs from pliable twigs to use in their day-to-day lives. Also, apart from manufacturing their own, they are adept at choosing the correct tools that will serve them well. This means that they will pick a curved twig rather than a straight one to allow them to hook things.

7 Crows can solve puzzles

A group of crows. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Researchers have discovered that crows can pass puzzles that are taken by children who are between five to seven years. Using the water displacement test, researchers noted that crows were able to push the water level in a bottle so that they can reach them by using stones to fill the space and bring the water up. There is also evidence of crows solving a meta-tool problem that required planning ahead of up to three moves. This shows that the animal is quite intelligent compared to other animals

8 They can defeat animals larger than them

When crows run into a predator, they are usually able to harass the predator because the crows work together to defeat the predator.  The crows usually adopt the mobbing behaviour when dealing with predators in that if a predator attacks one crow, the others will come and harass the predator and thus chase them off. They also use this method when stealing food from predators as they will swoop in in large numbers and scare the predators away and then proceed to take their food.

9 Crows do well in cities

A crow eating bread. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Unlike most animals that can only survive in the wild, crows can do very well in cities. Since crows are omnivorous and not picky about what they eat, they have a variety of food at their disposal from worms to snails and seeds. Being omnivorous means that they can change their habitat and easily adapt to the new environment with a lot of ease. It has also been noted that crows who live in urban centres are smarter than those that live in rural areas.

10 They can read traffic lights

Crows have learnt how to read traffic lights and use them for their own benefit. Carrion crows which is a breed of crows located in Japan have been known to use cars to crack walnuts at traffic stops. The crows would time the 5raffic lights and place the nuts when the cars are not moving so that when they drive, they can crack the nuts and they are able to swoop in and take their treat to eat. The American crows also do the same thing which shows that it is a common thing in different species of crows.

11 Some crows have bigger brains than humans

McGowan reveals that some crows are smarter than many undergraduates. This is because the crows can improvise to get on with their lives. When compared to their body size, the size of a crow’s brain is bigger as it accounts for 2.7 per cent of the bird’s body weight while the human brain accounts for 1.9 per cent of their body weight. The bird also shows a great deal of cognition that rivals that of an ape. However, crows can only perceive sensory input as they do not have the cerebral cortex which is responsible for consciousness.

12 Crows are often confused with ravens

Since the two species of birds come from the same genus, they share a lot of similarities that usually make it hard for people to differentiate the two. To know which one is a crow and which one is a raven, they must really have a keen eye. Some of the notable differences between the two is that ravens have larger bills and deeper croaks than crows. Crows on the other hand have fan-shaped tails while ravens have sedge-shaped tails.

13 Crows mate for life

Two crows. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Crows are very family oriented and not very social. The birds mate for life and as a result, they stay together for the rest of their lives. This is a quite fascinating concept that one would not expect from birds. However, as much as they have one mate for life, they are very promiscuous and male crows have been known to father other offspring apart from the ones that they have with the mate. Other crows even lead a double life in that they will split their time between two families.

14 Crows possess analogical reasoning

Crows. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Crows love being prepared which means that they will think of the next step before executing the current one. This shows that the animal possesses analogical reasoning as they are able to look at the relationship between the similarities and differences in objects and make the correct move. This is quite fascinating.

15 Crows give gifts

Crows are generous creatures when they love you in that when you befriend a crow by feeding them, they will return the gesture and bring you little gifts. Some of the gifts that crows present to their humans include paper clips, buttons, pins and other accessories.

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