Give a Crow a little credit. Sleek black in color with inquisitive dark eyes, a loping gait, and an intelligence level that far outreaches that of their lighter colored winged brethren. They are a bird well worthy of our respect and admiration.

The Crow has long been recognized for its intelligence, especially for its ability to outwit humans when they try to ban its access to acquiring an easy meal. What a lot of people don't know about the crow is that this bird has a talent that is actually one of the defining characteristics of being human, the ability to make, and to use tools. Humans use tools to insure that their lives are comfortable, two other creatures share the second place spot for their ability to use tools, these creatures are the chimpanzee and the Crow. A startling discover when you realize that this places a crows intelligence level in comparison to that of a chimp or maybe perhaps even a little higher?

Crows will use sticks to acquire bugs or other food from small crevices or cracks but this is not just by random chance. Studies have shown that crows will examine different tool options given to them, and will not only choose a tool that is of the correct length or width for the assigned task, but they will also design a tool of the correct design and dimension if it is necessary. They will trim away at sticks to make them thinner or bend a piece of wire into a hook if one is required for the task at hand. They also pass on their knowledge to their offspring as well as to others in their group.

Crows have been seen dropping food into a lake to entice small fish to the surface and then carting off their patiently awaited for meal. They drop hard shelled nuts onto sidewalks or road pavement to crack them, and if this isn't successful, then they aim them into a direct line of traffic so a passing vehicle will crack the nut for them. In addition to this, they have learned to watch changing traffic lights and pedestrian crossing signals for safe time periods in which to retrieve their meal without the danger of being run over by passing vehicles. View video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7329182515885554944

Crows memorize garbage routes and will show up at the Jones house every Tuesday, and the Franks every Wednesday if those are the days when those garbage bags hit the curb. They understand and remember time periods that will enable them to acquire the freshest meals and there is even some evidence to their ability of recognizing the concept of numbers. Rumor has it that when three hunters are pursuing them, they will wait for all three hunters to leave the area, before they come out from hiding.

Often considered a pest because of their natural tendency to congregate in large groups at local feeding spots, it is actually their black coloring which most often creates fear, and false assumptions about Crows. Black is a color often associated with negative assumptions such as death, gloom, doom, pessimism, unhappiness, foreboding, evil or the bad guy in the whole scenerio. To the crow however, this color is actually a means of protection. Owls and hawks are the crows primary preditors and it is the crows black coloring which offers it invisiblitity to these enemies. Owls hunting at night are less likely to see the dark colored crow, and when hawks search for a meal in the light of daytime, a crow roosting in a tree will look more like a shadow than a meal.

They are a bird with strong family values. When they win over the rights to the companionship of their chosen mate they will generally stay loyal to each other for life. Crows are social creatures and very devoted to their family units. They mate for life and offspring will stay with the family for up to five years. Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old and only leave the family nest when they acquire a mate of their own. Crows will fiercily defend their own family but they will also come to the aide of other crows in distress.

During the winter crows have a natural tendency to form communal groups to keep each other warm. These groups can be anywhere from a few dozen birds to hundreds of thousands of birds and it is a system built to insure the safety and survival of their species. Although these "communal crow groups" may seem frightening to some individuals, it is actually quite common for a variety of bird species to use numbers to increase their safety, geese flocking for migration are a prime example of this trait in other bird populations.

It is mainly in urban areas where these large groups of crows run into difficulties. As more and more urban areas offer up easily acquired food, the adaptable crow moves closer to man, and closer to misunderstandings and danger. Within cities their use of garbage as a food source has individuals and entire communties angered. In rural areas farmers often blame the crow for crop failures. Yes, Crows do like corn, but they are much more apt to do the farmer good than harm.

We just have to learn to give the Crow a little credit. Crows actual consume a vast array of insects and other waste material that would otherwise be harmful to ourselves and our environment. A crow earns it's place in our society by cleaning up carrion and waste grain matter. Perhaps their greatest contribution is in their consumption, and thereby reduction, of huge populations of harmful insects. Eyes twinkling with intellegence, the innovative crow stands out from other species, and perhaps this is what really frightens those who oppose it, hunt it, and seek to destroy it.

As for myself, I greatly admire the crow, and all of the character that it has to offer up to our world. I tip my hat to him, and hope that after reading this article, that you too will give a Crow a little credit for being the intelligent creature that it is.

Note: Crows are very sensitive to the effects of the West Nile Virus and this illness could drastically reduce its numbers in the future.

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