Pretty Cool Facts about the American Crow

In this video, we talk about some pretty cool facts about the American Crow, such as how highly intelligent birds they are and the fact that they are a songbird. They even have funerals, how strange is that?

When it comes to intelligence they’ve been lumped in with Dolphins and Apes, even dubbed as feathered apes though some researchers believe that they may even rival apes for smarts. It has been found that when it comes to reasoning they are on par with a 7-year-old child.
It may be surprising to learn that crows and indeed all other members of the corvid family are songbirds. Crows can produce a whole range of different sounds some are even melodious. Thanks to brain size and all those neurons, crows have sharp memories and can remember a good or bad face for up to half a decade or more. The average lifespan of the American Crow is 7 to 8 years in the wild. That’s just an average though, young birds die at a higher rate than experienced adults. Many individuals live 10-15 years. In the evening you may notice dozens or hundreds of crows coming together. They are getting ready to rest for the night. Large communal roosts of hundreds and even thousands are made usually in towns and cities. Roosting together in large numbers provides them with safety. The More eyes on the lookout the harder it would be for a hawk or owl to hunt them.

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Photos and videos from free use websites:
The individuals' names can be found on their respective photo/video and /or found below (license at the end)

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Eurasian Jay by Carola68 from Pixabay
Magpie by Ganaj from Pexels
Raven by LesleytheBirdNerd
Blue Jay by LesleytheBirdNerd
Rook by Vinding from Pixabay

02:29

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[LesleytheBirdNerd]

Thank you all for the kind words and for sharing your own stories and experiences with your local Crows.
Have a great week! Happy Birding

With love,
Lesley

[Munden]

Crows are one of my favorite birds. The crows at my house weren't interested in visiting the feeders, but were on the grass searching for food. This year I built them a raised feeding platform, placed it where they fed, and now fill it with 1-2 dozen unshelled unsalted peanuts daily. They now anticipate it, and caw from a distance when they see me about to refill it.

[johnearle]

I have a family of crows who hang out in my front garden. I’ve seen courtship displays, disputes, babies being fed, babies learning to fly, and even crows coming up on my deck barking for a snack. I’ve taken thousands of photos of my crew and make calendars from my best shots. They are a constant source of entertainment. They have distinct personalities. That’s what fascinates me most of all.

[cattailer]

Rivaling apes for intelligence, and on par with a 7 year old child....I'm very impressed! They are my favorite bird becausevof experiences I have had with them in the wild. I hike alone and always feel a little safer when the crows start talking, and quite often they follow me for thru my entire hike. Love that♥️

[willGro-jg]

I had a crow that was eating bird seeds put there for the smaller birds. Started feeding the crow separately on my balcony. After a week or so it started cawing beside the living room window. It then came everyday at morning time and started cawing until we gave him a treat.

[belaoxmyx]

I was walking in a wetland reserve in North Vancouver. When I saw a crow with its wings slightly open and on the ground. Using my binoculars I was able to see what this crow was doing. This bird was corralling ants to eat using the wings as a fence to keep the ants together while picking them with the beak.

[inessacheshire]

I love them too. After I rescued crow fledging from a cat, every night for 2 weeks I kept him in the house and during the day parents were coming in the garden to feed him. He flew away as soon as he was able. They all visit me every day and I think we have a magic connection 😀 since then. As always your video is lovely and professional.❤ thanks.

[thecrow]

The sweetest sound I've ever heard, was my crow, it's beak fully inserted inside my right ear, murmuring softly, full of love.

[missshroom]

We have a crow family in our back woods. I talk to them all the time. I feel like they know me. I’m in their woods all the time. They are very loyal to one another. We have been here 6 years now and so have they. I love them

[laurafalce]

Crows are so amazing. I'm a paraplegic and I've been feeding the birds at my little cottage for the last 7 years 3 years ago the crows were trying to get my attention. I just realized this now so that I would start to feed them. So every morning my caregivers help me make scrambled eggs and I've give them peanuts and scrambled eggs and crackers. But now they've grown to be my friends and they just come and visit and when I scooter around town if they see me they'll stop by and grow at me. That feeling of love from the 59-year-old Crow is very true. I have experience the feeling of love from these birds as well. It's hard to explain. It's just they spend a lot of time with them because I can't do much else and that's great cuz I've gotten to know them it really deeper level. Thank you so much Leslie for all that you do.

[tpniefer]

Like you, Lesley, I'm a crow lover. The native people of N. America revered the crow for his intelligence and wisdom, called crows tricksters for the mischief they get into. I'm going to try laying out unsalted peanuts this winter in the hope of establishing some type of rapport with them.

[joseh]

I love hearing the crows caw. It's like it brings back good, lifelong memories, especially childhood memories of being outdoors at recess or at a park. They are intelligent and love their families. That's wonderful.😊

[ddj]

When I was about 6 years old, my dad had close contact with a young Crow that we as a family will never forget. The Crow would follow my dad's drive to his work place in the morning which was about 2 miles from our home. When my dad got off from his 8 hour shift, the Crow would meet my dad about 1 mile away before he got home. My dad would pull over to side of road, roll down his window, hold out his arm & the Crow would ride home with my dad. When my mom would hang out the laundry, the Crow would come along & select which clothespins it would take off with mom's laundry on the line. They are truly very intelligent birds, as for me, I remember the Crow being attracted to the shiny buckles on my white little sandals I was wearing & he wanted to peck at them, which of course made me run to get away. You have brought back some very happy memories for me, thank you.

[deadiemeyers]

It's interesting to hear the various songs of the crow. I know that some people find it annoying, but I really love that familiar cawing song, and find it endlessly appealing. Thanks for sharing so much information about this interesting and intelligent branch of the Corvid family.

[AGR]

Very intelligent, adorable birds along with Ravens. I think they are very good at mocking sounds and even human speech!
Our most famous and beloved king in Hungary, Matthias Corvinus had a raven on his crest. Legend says, when he was held captive as a child, he and his mother kept communicating through the help of a raven. A legend, but esy to believe.
I am unfortunately not surprised to hear that many people still dislike these birds, and happy to see videos like yours that help changing our society's view about them to their advantage. Thank you!

[communistvulture]

I love corvids. Whenever I’m with my blue jays, or if I run into the crows who live downtown, I get the strange feeling that there are thoughts as complex as mine going on behind those eyes.

[waynepooley]

I now have a newfound appreciation and fascination with crows. Thank you

[Randoplants]

I used to live in a place on the edge of city limits where a huge flock of crows would commute to and from every day. It was amazing to watch them. I tried putting up inviting feeding spots and whatnot to encourage them to stop for a visit, but the only time they came by was when a hawk or other bird of prey had strayed into our area - and this was amazingly helpful because we have chickens. After they had chased off any unwanted intruders, one or two crows would stay for a long time as sentries, keeping a vigilant watch.

I moved to a nearby area a few years after that. At first, I had some luck building a rapport with the local crows, to the point where they started to imitate my chicken’s treat begging sounds, and them letting me know when the water dish was dirty.

This next story gets a bit gross, but it’s also funny:
One time a juvenile owl made the mistake of landing in my backyard with a rat they had caught, and the crows got every bird in the neighborhood to come and yell at them. Eventually the owl was able to carefully leave the scolding, minus their rat. The crows ate about half of it, then tossed the remaining half in the bird bath. I figured that meant they were done with it, so I put the rat in the compost bin. Later on, I found it laying in the driveway - so I think they meant it as a gift, and decided to take it back when they realized I wasn’t interested.

[McScootyKins]

I think I've mentioned this on your channel before, but I have a small group of crows that I feed everyday. They definitely know me and my car and they'll follow me through the parking lot. They're so smart and sweet.

[donnabeaudin]

When I was a kid, decades ago, my dad brought home an injured crow. I remember as I was helping to care for him, he would make eye contact, and he wasn’t fearful of us. That was with me and my 4 siblings gathered around him! When he got better, my dad let him go. Crows are pretty special!