Crow Thread

OceanSpray
my favorite birds indeed, the Lakota referred to them as little black eagles because of their intelligence and demeanor. also very social birds they are, very rarely found alone for very long. i always wanted to raise one but the circumstances never did arise and i would never take one from the wild. got to raise a Kestrel Hawk since i found a wee one alone in the woods. i like to think she still fly's free today.

My favourite bird is also the Crow and I absolutely love the 'little black Eagle' analogy ... it's so perfectly fitting ... I will never look at a Crow again without seeing the little black Eagle.

One of my Totem Animals is Crow (the other is Grey Wolf).

Amazing thread OP S&F for you. Woody )O(

The corvidae family are close to my heart.

Ravens at play


Playing in the snow on a car


Ravens can speak as good as parrots as well

Nice thread. I love crows. They are mystical, magical. I never saw them as dumb or harbingers of darkness. I thought they were intelligent, magical creatures, who are messengers. I have subscribed so I can come back and review the videos. thank you!

reply to post by woodwytch


woodwytch - my same totems! Grey wolf and crow! Kindred spirits....

Way to go op.
Gotta love them crows.

Isn't it incredible just how clever they are with such tiny brains?
And they're always dressed in black, just like Johnny Cash!

Incredible creatures. Thanks for the thread. I have really enjoyed reading and sharing the videos with my family. Do you have any thoughts about what this says about the theory of evolution? (if anything)

reply to post by SprocketUK


Actually their brains are not tiny at all. It mentions in the thread that the brain to body mass ratio is similar to primates, which is believed to be an indicator of intelligence.

reply to post by Bybyots

...I love crows

Me too.

Thanks for a GREAT OP.

~ soficrow

reply to post by yamammasamonkey


Brain to body mass is one thing, but I thought intelligence derived from the absolute number of connections between neurons, which led me to imagine bigger brains as more capable of supporting intelligence.
Just how do crows get so much bang from their buck?

staple
www.ted.com...

This takes thinking outside the box to a whole new level.

Why have we not thought of this before? We have known for a long time that our aggressive attempts to eradicate those species that seem to cling annoyingly to us, creating a nuisance and even sometimes health risks, only proliferate with of our attempts to eradicate them.

Why haven't we tried developing a symbiotic relationship with them before?

It is old knowledge; If you can't beat them, join them.

Galadriel
reply to post by woodwytch

 

woodwytch - my same totems! Grey wolf and crow! Kindred spirits....

Very pleased to meet you ... this is why I love ATS because every now and again a thread introduces you to a kindred-spirit ... a like-mind. Woody )O(

reply to post by SprocketUK

...I thought intelligence derived from the absolute number of connections between neurons, which led me to imagine bigger brains as more capable of supporting intelligence.
Just how do crows get so much bang from their buck?

Quantum Entanglement

SubTruth
reply to post by Bybyots

 

I have heard about people going out and shooting as many crows as they can. They do not eat or use the poor birds. These sick men actually consider it fun or some kind of a game.


When I heard about it made me very angry and sad that people could be so cruel and pathetic. We live in a world were being cruel is considered cool.


I am the type of person that will walk around worms on a rainy day. I just do not see the need to kill something for no reason.

I try to shoot them, because they're pests.

Yes, they are VERY intelligent, but they are pests.

They pull up corn and other plants in the garden, destroy the plants; they gang up on and harass my cats—just because my cats are outside; they gang up on, chase, and attack the hawks that live around here; i've seen one lonely crow attack a buzzard that was sitting in a tree; they are annoying when they won't shut up cawing in groups, and they disturb my peace.

They are not welcome on my property, and I think they have learned that.

But here's a good song:

Gothic Archies: Crows

reply to post by Liquesence


The behavior you described, sounds like the crows are learning more from us then we realized.

Hope they never learn how to make or use guns.

I absolutely adore crows. I love to watch and listen to them. I've watched them gang up on a hawk and chase it away. I notice they like to cluster in groups of five, perhaps an average crow family? We know so little of our world and take for granted much of our marvelous fellow creatures . Don Juan of Carlos Casteneda's works would shape shift into a crow...so you never know when it may be he in your midst. PEACE.

Liquesence

SubTruth
reply to post by Bybyots

 

I have heard about people going out and shooting as many crows as they can. They do not eat or use the poor birds. These sick men actually consider it fun or some kind of a game.


When I heard about it made me very angry and sad that people could be so cruel and pathetic. We live in a world were being cruel is considered cool.


I am the type of person that will walk around worms on a rainy day. I just do not see the need to kill something for no reason.

I try to shoot them, because they're pests.

Yes, they are VERY intelligent, but they are pests.

They pull up corn and other plants in the garden, destroy the plants; they gang up on and harass my cats—just because my cats are outside; they gang up on, chase, and attack the hawks that live around here; i've seen one lonely crow attack a buzzard that was sitting in a tree; they are annoying when they won't shut up cawing in groups, and they disturb my peace.

They are not welcome on my property, and I think they have learned that.

But here's a good song:

Gothic Archies: Crows

Then you are an enemy of every crow on the planet...perhaps they think YOU are the pest...tread carefully and remember Hitchcocks work. Pleasant dreams.

reply to post by Bybyots


great thread, Bybyots!
Being a parrot parent myself (I don't own them, they own me...) I am always amazed by the intelligence these birds show. they have the ability to reason, which is incredible.

I used to work in a factory where there was a break spot outside with tables, etc. Crows loved the area because there was not only food on the ground, but food in the trash. Many times I watched the crows work the garbage cans, the kind with the swinging lids that were vertical. It was fascinating, one crow would actually hold the door open while another would go in the can to get food. teamwork at it's finest!

reply to post by SprocketUK


Instead of trying to explain it myself, since I'm no expert and most explanations lead to more questions, I'll go the Wikipedia route for the basics. There is a good deal of research on this now. I grasp it basically as ratio matters because of the amount of the brain needed to "run" the body and the amount left over for other types of "thinking".

Brain size was previously considered a major indicator of the intelligence of an animal. However, many other factors also affect intelligence. Recent discoveries concerning bird intelligence have called into question the usefulness of brain size as an indicator.[1] Since most of the brain is used for maintaining bodily functions,[citation needed] greater ratios of brain to body mass may increase the amount of brain mass available for more complex cognitive tasks.[2][unreliable source?][3] Allometric analysis indicates that mammalian brain size scales at approximately the ⅔ or ¾ exponent of the body mass.[4] Comparison of a particular animal's brain size with the expected brain size based on such allometric analysis provides an encephalization quotient (EQ) that can be used as another indication of the animal's intelligence.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by yamammasamonkey


Hey, thanks. I'm still amazed though.
Always thought they were clever little buggers.
The brain to bodyweight thing goes some way to explaining it.
Still is a tiny brain. ..
Anyway, Annabel and Mortimer did wonders for Crow appreciation in the UK.

I tend to spend too much time watching the birds in general in my garden and have seen how they learn from watching each other. For example, I hung out a bird feeder which a bird has to be able to land on to get food. Easy for the little ones but takes more skill the bigger the species. The Jays were first to catch on (another member of the crow family). The next year the ring necked doves mastered it and the following year, and after attempting it each year, the magpies finally got the knack. This year, even the feral pigeons do it, after watching all the other species. Before they caught on, each type of bird would just hang around, watching and waiting for nuts and seeds to be accidentally spilt onto the ground.

A little while ago a heron flew overhead with a mixed bunch of magpies and crows chasing it off and I have witnessed magpies making a poor fox's life a misery by trying to peck its tail on many occasions. I have even seen them do it to a couple of squirrels on the lawn only last week. One of the squirrels chased it away but the bird just hopped out of reach and carried on.

A few years ago an African grey parrot flew onto my shoulder when I was in my garden. I took it inside the house and as soon as my partner was home, shot down to a local pet store for a cage (which I later discovered was the same as what he had at home). Not that I got him to go into it until the next day when he decided to check out the food in it. I quickly closed it and we went out for a while. On return, he was in the same place and as we were sitting talking the parrot made a noise as if to get our attention. As we looked at him he reached over to the door to push it open. He then just sat back onto the perch as if to say 'see I could get out any time I wanted'.

It was done with such perfect timing I find it hard to believe it was just a coincidence - that bird was laughing at us! That was the point I fell in love with parrots and now share my life with two of them. They only go in their cages overnight and are slowly but surely wrecking the place

Their intelligence and craftiness never fails to amaze me and they do not just mimic, they use human language appropriately so often. For example, I had gone for an afternoon sleep before a night shift. About 20 minutes later I heard one fly upstairs onto the banisters. She paused for a moment then landed on the bedroom door handle, banging on the door with her beak, saying 'what you doing' several times

So I don't think it's just crows that are smart, I think many of out feathered friends have a few surprises for us in the IQ department.