Most of you know I have a soft spot for creatures of nature. I have a family of Mockingbirds that approach me very close without fear. They seem to know I am the one who brings them their favorite food of mealworms. I have had a little skunk that always wants to come up and play. But I’m just not that brave. So I see the disappointed look on it’s face as it wanders off into the brush.
Then there are the three deer, the coyotes, frogs, birds of all kinds, and even an occasional snake that all visit my place regularly. I like to think that they feel safe here and come to rest at times. But the one creature that I am most impressed with and amazed by is a crow.
My wife likes to throw 
scrapes of bread or leftovers in the backyard for the birds. We started noticing the crow coming up to eat shortly after throwing out the food. Then we started putting it on a concrete stepping stone and the crow comes almost everyday to eat. It also calls two other crows to join him and in a short time, they have eaten it all. If we by some chance fail to put some food out, he will make noise to let us know he is out there. So I started learning all I could about this bird and what I found was fascinating. More than 30 million crows fly around the U.S., but the black birds may be among the least understood animals in the country. Now, new research is providing insight into their soaring intelligence and surprising warmth. 
Professor John Marzluff studies urban birds at the University of Washington's Aviation Conservation Lab, and he says forget the notion of dark and scary — crows are actually smart and friendly. "I always call them flying monkeys," Marzluff said. "I think they're a very small flying monkey.”Neurally, mentally, cognitively, they're a flying monkey." A crow's brain is the size of a human thumb, huge relative to its body, putting their intelligence on par with primates and allowing them to solve complex problems. The PBS series "Nature" showed an experiment where a crow figured out how to use a small stick to retrieve a larger stick and then use that to retrieve a piece of food that was well out of reach. " Our study shows the memory lasts at least five years and counting," Marzluff said. "Individual crows that are adults can live 15-40 years in the wild (most die when young, but those that make it to adulthood can live a long time) and they probably remember important associations they have formed for much of their lives." For the study, he and colleagues Heather Cornell and Shannon Pecoraro exposed wild crows to a no
vel "dangerous face" by wearing a unique mask as they trapped, banded and released seven to 15 birds at five study sites near Seattle.
The released birds immediately scolded the mask wearer. Hearing the racket, other crows joined, forming an angry mob. When the researchers later put on other masks while traveling to different areas, crows that were never captured immediately recognized the "dangerous face," illustrating how these birds learned through social means and not as a result of direct experience. Both relatives and strangers joined in the scolding and mobbing, which could occur over a mile away from the original incident. Once such a face is locked into a crow's memory, it's likely there for good. Since the mob members also then indirectly learn about the threatening person, the findings demonstrate how just a single crow's bad experience with a particular human can spread information about this individual throughout entire crow communities. Given that crows have impressive memories, people who ruffle the feathers of these birds could experience years of retribution.
Crows in 8-year-old Gabi Mann's Seattle, Washington, backyard seem to remember her for a good reason; she and her mom Lisa feed them. Gabi said she thinks the crows are very smart.
"They actually ran these tests to see if a crow was as smart as a 7-year-old," she said. Turns out, they are; smart enough, it appears, to keep a good thing going. Gabi has a carefully cataloged collection of more than 70 trinkets her neighborhood crows have left on her bird feeder, including earrings, a heart and a "best friend" charm. Gabi said she thinks they're trying to tell her she's their friend. Marzluff said more likely they are telling her to keep the food coming. He wrote an entire book called "Gifts of the Crow." He said the behavior is part of a courtship with humans. Crows and their relatives, ravens and magpies, have been known to form close bonds with people. All that cawing isn't just noise; they're talking to one another, and doing so in a very advanced fashion. So, not only do they recognize us as individuals, but they have the means to describe us in detail to one another, even across generations. I wish I had more space to tell you everything I have found about this very amazing creature. If you want to hear more about this, leave a comment. Also, please be sure to hit the “like” button at the bottom of this post.
