Crow Intelligence

A couple of interesting ornithological studies:

Like elephants, could it be that crows never forget a face, and learn to recognise threatening (and, conversely, rewarding) humans from both parents and others in their flock?

Crows and their relatives — among them ravens, magpies and jays — are renowned for their intelligence and for their ability to flourish in human-dominated landscapes. That ability may have to do with cross-species social skills. In the Seattle area, where rapid suburban growth has attracted a thriving crow population, researchers have found that the birds can recognize individual human faces.

More interestingly (amazingly?) could crows be the first non-human animal to use casual reasoning to solve problems, including chimps?

For more corvid intelligence, see Joshua Klein’s TED Talk on the intelligence of crows.

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