crows are smarter than some of you

Hey there! Welcome back to “The Confessions of a Random Blogger!”

So the other day I was at my grand-mom’s house just staring aimlessly out of the window; as one does; when she took a plate of leftovers and put them on her window sill, where a murder of crows quickly began to gather.

I was obviously incredibly intrigued, so I asked her why she would do that.

Now, she gave me a very long, complicated answer in Hindi which I could honestly barely understand, so I can’t give you a direct quote from her.

Essentially, she said that she’s been feeding the crows for so many years that they sit there everyday waiting for their expected daily meal at her window. She also said that since they’ve eventually come to remember her face, they somehow protect her against “the unknown.”

Ever since then, I’ve been so fascinated by crows and their ideologies and quirks. I’ve actually discovered that they’re genuinely so much smarter than some of you humans out there. So today, we’re going to be discussing why you should take notes the next time you see a high-pitched, majestic crow.


Traffic Rules

Crow_Traffic

Some crows can actually read stoplights and understand traffic norms. Studies have shown that when a crow has a nut that they can’t open themselves, they’ll wait for a red light in a traffic jam, place the nut near an incoming car and fly away once the light turns green. A car will eventually drive over the nut, making the crow’s job that much easier. The crow then returns at the next red light to retrieve their snack.

Yes, even crows understand that red means you stop moving. Got that? It doesn’t mean you try to shove your damn car past the red light as fast as you can. Don’t be an asshole.

Mind Your Manners

In 2011, the University of Washington discovered that crows could remember the faces of enemies for their entire lifetimes.

The researchers donned 2 different Halloween masks. Mask Number 1 was worn by the researcher trapping random crows in the wild. When other crows saw their peers being essentially crownapped, they screeched and swooped in to save their friends. The wearer of Mask Number 2 was simply a bystander watching the incident.

Then, after the crownapping incident, anyone (not just that particular researcher) wearing Mask Number 1 while strolling by the area that the incident took place would be greeted by the sound of angry crows scolding the unwanted visitor.

However, anyone wearing Mask Number 2 wouldn’t even be acknowledged. This led researchers to the conclusion that the crows could remember the “face” of who had wronged them.

Now it gets even more interesting. They decided to continue the study for 5 more years. Amazingly, the wearer of Mask Number 1 would still be antagonised by the vengeful crows. However, the initial group of crows that witnessed that fateful day had all mostly died by then. This led to the further conclusion that crows not only remember the faces of their attackers for the rest of their lifetimes, but they also warn younger crows about them.

Group_Crows

I’ve held a few hardcore grudges in my lifetime, but this makes me want to step up my game!

Crows are Welcoming and Understanding

Everybody knows the sound that a crow makes.

However, studies have shown that different crows actually have different regional dialects. Therefore, populations of crows in different locations can actually have completely different ‘languages.’

So if a crow decides to join a new social group of other crows, it will try to fit in with its new group of friends by learning their dialect. Once the crow learns the new dialect, he will finally be accepted in his new circle!

Flock of Black Birds Under White Cloudy Sky

See! Even crows have more social skills than you do!

Who am I kidding, I’m probably the most socially awkward person on the planet!


Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed today’s post, and if you did let me know! Like, Comment, Share, whatever!

You can check out my last few posts here:

Until Next Time.

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13 thoughts on “crows are smarter than some of you

  1. Woah, this is such an interesting read! My grandma lives in our home town, she too usually keeps food out for crows during special occasions saying it’s auspicious. Makes sense to be friends with the crows!
    Though honestly I’ve always been terrified of them since they seem very smart. They’ll probably lead the birds in a war against mankind. #weirdthoughts 🙈

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Loved reading such an interesting post! I used to dislike crows as a child but now that I haven’t seen a crow in years I miss them. We used to have crows in our area but now it is just pigeons, I wonder where could all of them have gone

    Liked by 1 person

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