Sleek black in color with inquisitive eyes, a loping gait and an intelligence level that far outreaches that of their lighter colored winged bretheren, the crow is a bird well worthy of our respect and admiration. Nearly every bird watching guide describes the American Crow as one of the more intelligent birds. They are incredibly resourceful and clever. Any way you describe them, these birds are worth watching as they go about their nesting, roosting and feeding habits.
The ability to make and use tools has long been considered a hallmark of intelligence. It is a rare and remarkable achievement for an animal to do this. Crows are known for their crafty tool-making abilities and many other talents as well: …show more content…
Given a selection of tools to choose from, they always pick out the stick or wire most appropriate for the ‘job’. Additionally, when faced with trying to retrieve food from a tube, in less time than it takes to describe it, a crow will pick up a wire, and bend it into a hook with its bill.
- There is a report of a crow who tore a sliver of wood off of a fencepost, placed it under its feet, and pecked at the tapered end as if to shape the point. The bird then used its tool to poke into a narrow hole where a spider was hiding.
- In Scandinavia, crows have been known to tug up ice-fishing lines, holding the tangled line with their feet between pulls and then flying away with whatever they can steal from the