Beastfile · Birds

Crow

Corvus

Also known as Carrion Crow, American Crow

It remembers your face, holds a grudge, and tells other crows about you.

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Overview

Crows recognize individual human faces and remember them for years. In the experiments that established this, researchers wearing a particular mask trapped and released crows; birds later scolded that mask on sight, including birds that had never been caught, which means the information spread socially. They make and modify tools, solve multi-step puzzles that require doing something useless-looking first, and drop hard-shelled food onto roads for cars to crack. Several species gather around a dead crow in a way that looks ceremonial and appears to be about learning what killed it.

Origin

Almost everywhere. Forest, farmland, coast and city across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia, with cities suiting them particularly well.

Habitat

Forest

Notable Traits

•Recognizes and remembers individual human faces
•Passes information about specific people to other crows
•Makes and modifies tools
•Solves puzzles requiring several steps in order
•Gathers around dead crows, apparently to learn the danger

Conservation

Least Concern for most species and increasing in many places. Crows adapt to human landscapes better than almost any other bird, which is why they are one of very few animals doing well out of urbanization.