Caledonian crows like 007 show problem-solving skills well beyond what survival might demand. They fashion tools out of twigs and sticks to reach food. And they can be precise when choosing natural materials to make tools.
In 2014, scientists at the University of Auckland, New Zealand tested New Caledonian crows’ understanding of water displacement. They found that these crows could be as clever as an average 5-7-year-old human.
And researchers at the University of Tübingen in Germany discovered that crows even understand the concept of zero. The crows understood zero as a specific numerical value that’s less than one and not just as a simple something versus nothing situation.
But we still don’t know how their mathematical ability could be helpful to wild crows. I mean, they either have food or they don’t.
But that’s precisely what makes an animal uniquely intelligent. Primates often use their intelligence to entertain themselves with puzzles and games. And it seems, so do crows. Scientists are still unsure about whether this guy here is having some certified fun but come on. How could anyone not?
Problem-solving happens in the pre-frontal cortex for primates. Crows do not have this exact structure. But they do have a higher concentration of neurons in a similar area of their brain, that could be the likely source of their intelligence.
But can you guess why crows evolved to be this smart?
The social intelligence theory offers the most compelling explanation so far. Primates are highly competitive. And keeping tabs on the politics of everyone’s messy love lives is essential to surviving.
But for the monogamous crow, it’s the teen years that offer the biggest challenge. Young crows hang out in highly aggressive and competitive juvenile gangs. And like many kinds of gangs, things can get, well, quite rough.
The more clever a crow is, the more likely it is to make it to adulthood.
Crows make impressive use of their hard-earned social intelligence. As annoying as that caw might sound, crows have a complex language, complete with regional dialects.
An immigrant crow will try to fit in by learning the local language and copying accents too. When a crow dies, the whole flock gathers for what looks like a funeral. These funerals are equal parts mourning and crime scene investigation.
What killed this crow? And how can we avoid similar deaths in the future? These are important questions to the funeral party.
Even if there is ample food at the death site, no crow will eat it. So maybe we have misunderstood this clever bird. But if you feel tempted to chase away the next crow you see, think again. This clever avian will remember your face for up to five years. It will also be sure to warn other crows about you.
And as researchers from the University of Washington, who used cavemen masks to trap and band crows found out, the next time you approach a flock, you could be mobbed and scolded.
As time passes, more crows will have learned to respond negatively to you. And to be fair, it’s not just the bad stuff that they remember. A young girl in Seattle who has been feeding crows in her backyard has won their little crow hearts.
They routinely leave her various trinkets and “treasures” in the bird feeder as a thank you. They even left her the “best” side of a best friends necklace.
Crows have extraordinary intelligence and incredible social skills. And that’s what makes them Crazy Creatures.
