The Amazing Corvids
Ever wonder what bird-brains were thinking?
by Adam Enright
Have you had the experience of watching a crow or a raven that left you thinking to yourself, dang! That is one smart bird! Manifesting in our visual sphere like a living silhouette, the big black birds observe their world intently, their movements revealing a cerebral mixture of curiosity and apprehension. When a person mimics the many sounds they make, they call back . . . attempting to engage in a conversation. When you pick up a rock, a crow or raven can read your intentions, flying away before the rock can be thrown. Alternately, witnessing a large flock or murder of crows perched on a dead tree on a dark, foggy night can be a fear inducing experience. Even the noisy presence of a single crow on a desolate landscape can make your hair stand on end. The hungry crow will judge when it is safe to descend and waddle amongst people and, afterward, perched high with a snack, will express disgust with humanity by holding a loud demonstration. They seem able to access a very broad array of thoughts and emotions. Now being pretty sure these observations were not just symptoms of a runaway imagination, I set out to do some new research . . . on the internet . . . which seemed like a much safer idea then getting into the crow consume and climbing up a tree again. As I read about these amazing birds, I could not help but to draw comparisons to myself, my community and to humanity in general.
After careful contemplation, it became obvious crows have played an important role in the animal pantheon of human imagination. In the English language the word crow is used in derogatory reference to an older woman, like an "old crow", to problems such as to "have a crow to pick" as well as for humiliation, to "eat crow" but also to make a sound expressing a feeling of happiness or triumph as in "to crow" about something. Crows also appear in: "as the crow flies" to refer to distance, "crow bar" and "crow's feet" to refer to wrinkles. Crows and their cousins the ravens, jays and magpies appear frequently in myths and legends around the world, and these appearances have continued in novels, scary movies, music videos and video games.
It turns out crows, ravens, jays and magpies are all members of the same family, the Corvid genus, a dynamic group of at least 42 highly evolved species existing on all continents except South America and Antarctica. These birds share more then bone structure . . . like apes they all exhibit high intelligence. While seemingly abundant in cities and the countryside, as many as 14 Corvid species are thought to have gone extinct under pressure from humans. It seems we like the same habitats: lush river valleys and the oceanside.
The Corvid genus evolved in central Asia and radiated out into North America, Africa, Europe, and Australia millions of years ago. Corvids have been recognized worldwide for their high intelligence, which, according to the National Geographic, may even match chimps and gorillas in problem-solving abilities. This means the average crow far surpasses the intelligence of the average Republican.
While using a dozen distinct sounds to communicate and speaking in complex regional dialects, Corvids also listen for, and react to, calls of other bird species. They can relay messages bird-to-bird within minutes over large distances, which aids them in living in complex, hierarchic societies involving hundreds of individuals. We humans are generally such poor communicators we take years to lodge our long-standing complaints against even our nearest neighbors. Corvid society functions in an organized fashion with members who serve various occupations. The elders serve as directors while the youngsters are employed as scouts, hunters, and guards . . . the organization functions as an organized whole to the whole flock’s advantage. Humans are for the most part simply taught to look out for numero uno, all the while proving our intelligence by getting tangled up in sub-prime loans, pyramid marketing schemes, watching daytime television and hanging out in charming places like smokey bingo halls.
Corvids have proven to exercise thinking processes that include imagination in solving problems, anticipating outcomes and reading the intentions of others. Corvids are shown to have a sense of humour and enjoy playing tricks on one another. They will use deception and cunning to trick each other into looking in the wrong places when they are actually at another location, by making a ruckus at one spot and then flying silently to the spot where the good food is. This same technique works on people in the mall food court. Corvids will collect shiny metal objects like coins, silverware and jewellery as trophies and status symbols to decorate their nests. Similarly, people will collect plywood Ikea furniture, Anne Geddes prints and plastic celebrity bobble-heads as status symbols to enhance our homes. Corvids will marshal squads to escort hawks and other predators out of their territory. Nature has also pitted owls against crows in an ancient turf struggle where crows harass owls by day while owls use the darkness to regain advantage by night. Rather than getting involved in the commuinty, humans call lawyers and cops to resolve our conflicts for us.
Sneaky western scrub jays have been observed waiting to move food caches when no other jay is looking, seeming to anticipate what other jays may be thinking. I have observed this same cunning behavior with diners at a dessert buffet. Corvids subsist in harmony on a sustainable diet gleaned from their surroundings. Humans insist on paying dearly for food shipped from every corner of the planet and then we still complain. Magpies have proven to be capable of recognizing themselves when they see their own reflection in a mirror, using the mirror to preen their feathers . . . a level of self-conception thought solely to exist in the realm of higher primates and human teenagers. Come to think of it, I leave the house without looking in the mirror most days as do many people it seems . . . begging the question: would magpies make as many downright horrific fashion statements as people make if they had to get dressed every morning?
Most amazingly, crows and ravens have proven to be "meta-toolmakers" meaning not only do they use tools, they also use tools to make tools. Crows and ravens are the only known "meta-toolmakers" outside of a small percentage of humans and chimps with expensive training and experience. Even with advantages over crows like opposable thumbs and human intellect to aid in our inventiveness, blunt objects and cussing have always been the immediate human solution to a mechanical problem. Not so for crows, with whom intellect is paramount. The Caledonian crow has discovered how to bend wires and twigs with bricks or rocks to fish food out of crevices it could not reach with its beak. In addition to different hook tools, these crows use a certain leaf to make sharp poking instruments they sculpt and sharpen. They have also learned how to work in tandem to flip over garbage pails. Because different groupings use different techniques, this may mean crow traditions are being handed down through generations, signifying a type of sophisticated tool-making avian culture. On the other hand we have all observed people angrily hammering on objects with no effect.
Crows in Israel have been observed using breadcrumbs to go fishing. The crows would gladly accept the bread people fed them in the park, but would immediately fly to the pond where they’d drop the bread in to lure an even better meal: fish! The Israeli Defence Force tolerated this, but when Palestinians dressed as crows tried to do the same they were shot at with rubber bullets and tear gas. Jays have been known to sit on ant hills, prompting the ants to spray their claws with formic acid. At some point the jays discovered on their own that formic acid is a natural cure for a type of bird parasite. Forgoing the natural environment, humans habitually seek cures manufactired in faraway labs advertised on television. British crows have been seen dropping nuts with hard shells into traffic intersections and waiting for the red light signal to retrieve the cracked nuts. Similarly, drunken British pub goers have been spotted falling into traffic and cracking their nuts. In many cities, crows help people reduce, reuse and recycle by following the garbage pick-up schedule . People have yet to learn to reduce, re-use and recycle their own garbage. Crows in Australia have discovered they can eat the poisonous cane toad as long as they flip it over and avoid eating the top of the toad where the poison is secreted. We use the same technique when trying to avoid the noxious effects of too many chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies.
Despite, or maybe because of, the intelligence of these birds, they are often classified as pests on par with mice and rats. Therefore, there are no bag limits during hunting season, and some cities and suburbs routinely cull great numbers of these intelligent birds with poisons. This is a terrible shame . . . These birds are so naturally gifted and such resourceful problem solvers, we ought to stop killing them and put them on the pay roll to figure out the problems our politicians consistently fail to solve, decade after decade. Let us get some real bird-brains on the problems we face today. When presented a problem Corvids work hard to find solutions, and this reveals their resourcefulness and creativity. When facing problems, human politicians mindlessly follow the political tradition of rolling over to be unquestioning servants of big money. With all the evidence in, actual problem solving seems to have ceased at some stage of human evolution. We monkeys should just step away from the switches and consult a Council of Corvids on how to proceed.
From this point on, I say we should tirelessly promote and listen to the Amazing Corvids, our oft misunderstood, amazingly gifted bird brothers and sisters!
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