00:00I'm Charles and with me is Sophia. Today we're talking about a group of birds that are way
00:13smarter than you think, crows and ravens. That's right, Charles. We often call people
00:17bird brains, but if a crow heard that, it would probably be offended. Crows, ravens,
00:23and their relatives are some of the most intelligent animals on the planet. They have the problem
00:28solving skills of a seven-year-old child. And they're not just smart, they're social. Yes,
00:33scientists have found that they can use tools, solve multi-step puzzles, and even plan for the
00:38future. There's a famous example of a crow that would take a tiny twig, shape it into a hook,
00:43and use it to get food out of a container. I have a limited knowledge of this,
00:47but it's a huge feat for an animal. It is, and it's not just a one-off thing. They can pass this
00:52knowledge down from one generation to the next. And what about their social behavior? I've heard
00:56about something called a crow funeral. It's a very fascinating phenomenon. When a crow dies,
01:02other crows will gather around the body. Scientists believe they're doing this to figure out what
01:07happened, to see if there's a predator or a danger they need to avoid. It's a very social and very
01:12intelligent way of learning. So they're not just mourning a loss. They're trying to learn from it.
01:17And here's the part that will creep you out. They remember human faces. Oh, no. Yes. Scientists in a
01:23study found that crows would remember the face of a person who had captured them. They would then
01:27share that information with other crows, and they would all mob that person when they saw them.
01:31So if you're nice to a crow, it'll remember you. If you're mean to a crow, it'll remember you and tell
01:36all of its friends. Exactly. And they have different accents in their calls, depending on the region
01:40they're from. So they're not just smart. They're also very social and very protective of their own.
01:45So Charles, it feels like we've covered all the incredible things about crows and ravens.
01:48They're not just birds. They're a window into a different kind of intelligence.
01:52They are. Thank you for being with us today. Until next time.
Comments