caw caw crow

One might think that crows are a nuisance and a bad omen. That is not entirely wrong, as crows can become pests and cause many problems in cities. They can rifle through trash, pick on leftover food from outdoor eateries and harass people. The house crows, brought into Singapore to deal with the rat problem, have become pests themselves. The quote 'you are what you eat' couldn't be applied any more accurately here. One amazing thing that has happened as a result of the increase in crow populations is the proliferation of the Asian koel. The Asian koel has a high keening call that sounds like its own name. You probably would have been woken up by one in the morning before.

Picture of a house crow taken by Dhruvaraj S obtained from Wikimedia Commons

Picture of an Asian koel taken by Gladson Machado obtained from Wikimedia Commons

Despite all the problems that crows bring about, they are actually important to the environment. Crows actually eat many insects that farmers consider pests, and can be used to control pest populations.

Crows are interesting, in that they are able to recognise faces. Crows respond negatively to faces that they think are dangerous, or bring about death. Upon seeing faces they have linked to danger, a group of crows will collectively harass the individual. On the other hand, crows do not harass people whom they believe will not harm them. Studies have shown that crows can recognise their dead. This ability could be due to the high intelligence of the crow. Another study has shown that crows could have the intelligence of a seven year-old human child. The study tested six crows' ability to solve problem and understand the mechanics of water displacement. The results had shown that the crows knew how water can be displaced, which is a pleasant surprise. 

I'd read many articles that discussed the intelligence of crows, but I had never saw for my own eyes (through a video) how smart crows can actually be. It would be cool if crows can be taught to carry out simple activities, like how dogs can be taught to fetch and do certain tricks. Perhaps then the negative impressions that people have on crows could be changed.

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Information taken from:
'Crows are as intelligent as CHILDREN: Study reveals birds are as clever as a seven-year-old human', DailyMail.com
'The Birds That Fear Death', by Melissa Hogenboom, BBC Earth
Singapore Birds Blog, under the 'Crows' column