2.5-minute read

Well, I was there,
and I know what you did.
I saw it with my own two eyes.
Phil Collins

As far as crows are concerned, sharing a habitat with humans can be complicated. From the clever creatures’ perspective, we can be somewhat, well, unpredictable. Some of us are quite nice and obviously bird-friendly, and others demonstrate what can only be perceived as seriously anti-crow behavior. Researchers examining how crows learn to distinguish between goodies and baddies have discovered that crows never forget a dangerous face, and they’re not shy about cawing out bad behavior.

In a study designed to learn how crows respond to and communicate amongst themselves about potential stranger danger, behaviorists from the University of Washington wore fright masks while net capturing and banding crows before releasing them. When researchers reappeared in the vicinity of the crow community wearing the same fright masks, not only did the banded crows scold and mob the people they remembered to have caused them harm, the crow bystanders who had simply witnessed the capture of their mates also gave the baddies a good telling off.

Much the same way we humans learn whom to avoid based upon our negative interactions with them, observation of their mistreatment of others, and word of mouth from trusted sources, according to the Washington study, crows can tell people apart, remember harmful behavior, communicate their grievances, and share their knowledge about baddies with other birds in their flock.

As people and wildlife increasingly occupy the same environments, an animal’s ability to remember an individual’s actions to avoid potential threats will help them adapt to human behavior and increase their chances of survival in a rapidly changing world. Now, that’s something to crow about.

ICYMI Nature News

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