Native traditions, from tribes to tribes, often gave a proeminent role to the crow – they use to call it the Trickster. They had spotted its amazing intelligence.
Irvin and I watched a documentary showing two researches teams, one here in the Northwest, the other one in Japan. They found out amazing data. Crows have a rich family life.
The young adults help their parents with the new baby birds. They all communicate by series of clacking sounds. The loud “kraa” we hear are only a cry they use to warn each other of a potential danger. A group of crows living together is called a ‘murder’ of crows.
Their level of intelligence allows them, for instance, to use a small stick to catch a longer one that will be their instrument to reach a piece of food. It can be compared to simians. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher said about them “If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows”.
The link below leads to the documentary that can be watched online.
I have always had a fascination with crows (and their cousins, the raven). They seem so mysterious and very intelligent. I've just sat there watching a crow figure out how to open a food container before. It was amazing!
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