Bird Brain

[Rianne]

These videos are quite amazing of black crows and how they problem solve. Unbelievable. I've heard they were smart, but this smart? I will never look at them the same again. They used to scare me. Now they amaze me.



https://www.bbc.com/future/article/...-other-than-primates?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

[jimbee]

Crows are very smart. You might enjoy this episode of PBS Nova, lots of interesting information on bird intelligence.

https://www.pbs.org/video/bird-brain-xgnj3x/

 

[LRDave]

Most of your local birds are playing checkers and crows are playing chess....

They really, REALLY mob owls in the daytime if they can find them. Crows are vulnerable at night and the crows know it (relatively big targets).

 

[jimbee]

Most of your local birds are playing checkers and crows are playing chess....

They really, REALLY mob owls in the daytime if they can find them. Crows are vulnerable at night and the crows know it (relatively big targets).

While out for a walk this summer, I watched two crows driving a red-tailed hawk away. One crow would fly ahead of the hawk to distract, and the second would fly to the hawk from behind, pecking the cr@p out of it. They would switch jobs periodically, and were pretty effective in herding the hawk.

 

[MRG]

Crows are smarter than many people. We have one in our neighborhood that I named Bernie. He follows me around if I'm outside, calling for me. Eventually I'll put out some nuts. Bernie likes walnuts over pecans and cashews.

 

[Nemo2]

Although Australian Magpies are not technically Corvids, (some minor thing to do with the absence of nasal bristles or somesuch), they're probably just as smart as Crows.

I tried this a number of times, the better part of six decades ago........Magpies up in a tree and I pointed a long stick at them (rifle style)...no reaction.

Bent down to pick up the rifle from the ground......no Magpies.

 

[audreyh1]

The Corvid family, including crows, jays, and ravens, are super smart. They are very social (lots of communication and interaction with each other), siblings hang around to help raise young, lots of game playing are part of early education. Ravens are considered the smartest.

We don’t have crows down here, nor blue jays. But we have the spectacular green jay which is just slightly smaller than a blue jay and similar in behavior.

 

[Rianne]

The Corvid family, including crows, jays, and ravens, are super smart. They are very social (lots of communication and interaction with each other), siblings hang around to help raise young, lots of game playing are part of early education. Ravens are considered the smartest.

We don’t have crows down here, nor blue jays. But we have the spectacular green jay which is just slightly smaller than a blue jay and similar in behavior.

Awesome photo. The birders I know can identify a bird when I describe one small feature and mimic their song (as best I can). Haha. Birders are fun to talk to. We have a migration event every year at the forest preserves. Catch and pin, then let go. I'm always amazed at the distance they travel.
Crows just sound mean when they communicate. Like a cackle.

 

[Pellice]

Awesome photo. The birders I know can identify a bird when I describe one small feature and mimic their song (as best I can). Haha. Birders are fun to talk to. We have a migration event every year at the forest preserves. Catch and pin, then let go. I'm always amazed at the distance they travel.
Crows just sound mean when they communicate. Like a cackle.

I am convinced our human brains are configured to sort, classify, and describe. I am a birder and I can identify many birds by one small feature or sound. But I am so far below the top birders, who can sort something indistinguishable to me from great distances.

But we all have this capability. I could care less about automobiles and cannot tell one brand from another, but many others can turn onto a street and give you make and model of every car parked on it. If you listen to the Saturday Metropolitan Opera and hear their quiz game, sometimes I hear the host play one note and say, "Smiles all around, I see, who wants to go first," and the contestants can identify the opera, singer, and sometimes the orchestra - from one note.

It's what we humans do well!

 

[Rianne]

I am convinced our human brains are configured to sort, classify, and describe. I am a birder and I can identify many birds by one small feature or sound. But I am so far below the top birders, who can sort something indistinguishable to me from great distances.

But we all have this capability. I could care less about automobiles and cannot tell one brand from another, but many others can turn onto a street and give you make and model of every car parked on it. If you listen to the Saturday Metropolitan Opera and hear their quiz game, sometimes I hear the host play one note and say, "Smiles all around, I see, who wants to go first," and the contestants can identify the opera, singer, and sometimes the orchestra - from one note.

It's what we humans do well!

Well said. We were on a prairie hike, about 15 people and several were birders. One spotted an Eagle in the distance. It looked like a blob to me, flying. I asked how can you identify and Eagle from so far away? One birder went into detail about wing span and shape of the wings and head. They could see identifying feathers. They carry their binoculars everywhere and discuss. Coolest people to know.

 

[JoeWras]

I knew birds (most species) were smart when a few years ago a sparrow flew between my legs to put me between it and the hawk.

I became a human shield! Fortunately, the hawk still saw me as a threat and put in the talons and took a sharp curve away from the two of us.

I mean, dang!

 

[Scrapr]

not a bird but Mrs told me to watch our Golden Retrievers work together. We had a pear tree in the front yard with a fence gate going down there from the back yard. The latch was a bit loose (lose?) and they could bump the gate and it would open. So during pear season Penny (the smart one) would station Oden the Shedder at the gate to keep it from closing. She would go down & get a pear and come back up & hold the gate while Oden got his. Then they would both retire to the yard for a bite to eat. Repeat on demand. They also would not do this if we were out there watching them. We had to look through the window to see what was happening.

I slept with one eye open after that.

 

[Winemaker]

I was told by neighbor that when a group of crows are feeding in the cornfield behind the house, one crow will stand guard. If something happens to one of the feeding crows, and the guard crow hasn't sounded the alarm, the surviving feeding crows will beat up on the inept guard crow til their demise. I have not witnessed a beat up session, but do see the guard crows in position.

 

[audreyh1]

not a bird but Mrs told me to watch our Golden Retrievers work together. We had a pear tree in the front yard with a fence gate going down there from the back yard. The latch was a bit loose (lose?) and they could bump the gate and it would open. So during pear season Penny (the smart one) would station Oden the Shedder at the gate to keep it from closing. She would go down & get a pear and come back up & hold the gate while Oden got his. Then they would both retire to the yard for a bite to eat. Repeat on demand. They also would not do this if we were out there watching them. We had to look through the window to see what was happening.

I slept with one eye open after that.

Golden retrievers are smart. DH and and I were herded by a bossy pair at a mountain B&B. They would herd us down the trail. Then at one point one of them decided that it was time to play catch and brought us a stick to throw. LOL!

 

[harllee]

I was told by neighbor that when a group of crows are feeding in the cornfield behind the house, one crow will stand guard. If something happens to one of the feeding crows, and the guard crow hasn't sounded the alarm, the surviving feeding crows will beat up on the inept guard crow til their demise. I have not witnessed a beat up session, but do see the guard crows in position.

A group of crows are is called a "murder." I had always wondered why--maybe this is a reason.

DH and I are birders, a hobby which have really enjoyed. I have a lightweight pair of binoculars that I usually have around my neck when outside. Birds are fascinating to me. Most birders have a"life list" --a list of all the bird species that person has seen in his or he life, I have over 800 bird species on my life list. I can identify most of the local birds by seeing them fly by or hearing their song. Some birders do what is called a "big year" or a "big day", trying to see how many birds he or she can see in a year or 24 hours.

Birders in England are called "twitchers" because they are always looking around.

Birders can get "warbler neck" a neck ache from looking high in the trees to see warblers.

 

[audreyh1]

Bird Brain was the name of some nice list keeping software that unfortunately stopped being available/updated by the mid 2000s. But DH and I got most of our sightings in it, and at least have PDFs of the life lists. But we stopped tracking after the software stopped working.

We had been avid birders for almost two decades. Not quite so into it now, butterflies supplanted for a few years, but we live in a famous birding area, so we get to see rarities anyway! We still have our excellent optics (Swarovski). DH occasionally deigns to take out his giant bird lens and tripod.

I completed the Cornell home study course in ornithology. Equivalent to 3 semesters college from what I’ve been told. It was wonderful - I learned so much and gained a rich background that greatly enhanced my everyday birdwatching.

 

[Nemo2]

we live in a famous birding area

I think I've mentioned these guys before, but my favorites there were the Chachalacas.....I described them to someone who'd never seen them as a cross between parrots, chickens, and motorcycle gang members, after seeing a crowd of them descend upon a campground around Mission.

They swaggered up and down the roads and literally took over......Marlon Brando, eat your heart out!