The Amazing Crow...
ats with wings? I don't think so.
I'd wager that any randomly selected American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is smarter than any randomly selected former President (i.e. W. Bushus moronocus). Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but if intelligence were a function of brains divided by body weight, crows would rank near the top. If you think I'm flighty, check out this video in which writer Joshua Klein shows how phenomenally bright crows are.
Crows are fascinating creatures. They average roughly a foot and a half in length and weigh about one pound. According to Dr. Kevin J. McGowan of Cornell University, crows that survive infancy live between 17 and 21 years, about the same as domestic house cats. And like cats, they can be cunning, mischievous and curious.
Crows are ubiquitous in most North American cities and so common elsewhere, that we tend to shrug them off as little more than biological wallpaper. If they're noticed at all, it's usually when they're a nuisance.
Like most people, I never paid much attention to crows until the day I was attacked by one. It happened as I was jogging around Green Lake, a popular park in Seattle. As I approached a big fir tree, a pair of Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus) roosting on a lower branch dipped their heads, pitched forward and scolded me. Ignoring the avian no trespass warning, I ran under the tree. That's when one of the crows swooped down and took a nasty swipe. It scraped its talons across the top of my head and followed me for about fifty yards before breaking off the attack. The talons on a crow's foot (above right) are designed to do damage, and there was no question that this crow meant business. At first I was angry. Then I saw the chick they were defending. I was still pissed-off, but not so much...
All of this helps illustrate my point. The amazing ability of crows to thrive in a range of environments speaks to their innate intelligence and adaptability. And I'm convinced that the main reason they're rarely noticed is because they simply don't want to be noticed. Wisely, they shun attention. If you stare at a crow for more than a couple of beats, chances are it will meet your eyes and either squawk an objection or summarily fly off.
The Corvid Restoration Organization (West) aims to restore the unfairly tarnished reputation of the often maligned Corvus brachyrhynchos.
