Why Cyprus crows are smarter than you think

They remember faces, and more, in addition to behaving in ways more typical of primatesSpending the past year feeding the neighborhood crows has changed the way I see them. What began as a simple routine soon became something stranger. They learned a whistle, anticipated feeding times, and even began appearing outside different windows of the house. Watching them steal cat food and scare away pigeons, I began to wonder if these birds were paying more attention than people think. Scientists, it turns out, have been asking the same question. Often considered just noisy scavengers, crows have lately gained scientific recognition as some of the most intelligent animals on our planet. Crows have problem solving skills, can remember individual people, learn from one another, and exhibit behaviours that were considered exclusively human. Cyprus is home to several species belonging to the corvid family. Apart from the well-known Hooded Crow, there are Eurasian Magpies, Jackdaws and Cyprus Jay, an endemic subspecies that inhabits the Troodos, Paphos and Machairas forests. “Corvids absolutely deserve to be part of that conversation because their intelligence has been repeatedly demonstrated through observation and experiments,” says Elena Markitani, Communication Coordinator at BirdLife Cyprus. What is especially interesting about corvids, according to Markitani, is that they possess such capabilities with brains that are vastly different from those of other animals. “What makes them especially fascinating is that they achieve all this with a very different brain structure from mammals,” she says. “When we see corvids showing behaviours that look ‘ape-like’-tool use, planning, social learning, memory, it tells us that advanced intelligence can evolve in very different branches of the animal kingdom”. The corvid family includes crows, ravens, jackdaws, magpies and jays, which are known for consistently astonishing scientists with their unique skills and traits, which had been thought characteristic only to humans and other primates. Research has revealed that crows are able to recognise faces of individuals and associate particular faces with danger. More remarkably, they can communicate this information with other crows. “They are extremely remarkable,” says Markitani. “A crow is not simply reacting to a human; it can distinguish one person from another and adjust its behaviour based on past experience. That kind of ability is highly valuable for survival, especially in environments shared with people.” Recent research has gone on to show the incredible sophistication of these birds. Scientists from the University of Tübingen discovered that the carrion crows had the ability to make a certain number of sounds depending on numerical cues, with scientists making parallels between the way toddlers first learn to count. Other studies have shown that corvids were able to create tools and plan for future gains, as well as the ability to understand recursive patterns, something that was long considered fundamental to human language and reasoning. For Markitani, some of the most interesting examples can be witnessed much closer to home. The Hooded Crow in Cyprus is an extremely adaptable and observant bird. They are often seen searching for sources of food, watching humans and quickly taking advantage of opportunities. The most impressive behaviour demonstrated by Hooded Crows in Cyprus involves the use of traffic for cracking nuts. “Yes, crows in Cyprus show many signs of adapting very successfully to human environments and routines,” says Markitani. “One interesting behaviour observed in urban areas is crows dropping hard shell nuts such as pecans onto roads so that passing cars crack them open. This shows opportunistic problem solving: the birds are using something in their environment, traffic, to access a food source that would otherwise be difficult to open.” In areas frequented by tourists, crows have figured out how to feed from garbage cans where food waste is regularly left behind. They have also been observed feeding among cats when food and water are left out for strays. “These behaviours may seem ordinary at first, but they reveal a great deal about crow intelligence,” says Markitani. “They show learning, memory, flexibility and the ability to connect human routines with feeding opportunities”. Their success is helped by the fact that humans have a lot of predictable patterns of behaviour. Waste management systems, places where people eat outdoors, gardens, and farms are places that are accessible to birds, which can learn and adapt. “They are omnivorous, intelligent, and socially aware”, Markitani says. “A bird that is observant, cautious, opportunistic and able to learn can do very well in such places.” The research on crows has also led to new perspectives on intelligence. “They teach us that intelligence has evolved more than once, in different forms and under different pressures,” says Markitani. “Corvids challenge the old idea that complex cognition belongs mainly to mammals with large primate-like brains.” Scientists believe that studying corvids can help shed light on general issues surrounding the evolution of intelligence and the types of pressure that favour problem solving and innovation. Crows and corvids also perform a vital function in the ecosystems of Cyprus. As scavengers, they help remove carrion and organic waste, while the jays help in seed dispersal and regrowth of woodlands. Even though corvids prey on eggs and can come into conflict with farmers, Markitani says it’s important to see them as a functioning ecosystem rather than just labelling them as pests. “Their impact is not one-dimensional,” she says. “They can create costs in some situations, but they also provide ecological services such as scavenging, nutrient recycling and helping to control some invertebrates”. For those who may not give them much thought, Markitani says one thing worth remembering is “they are not just noisy black and grey birds in the city or countryside. They are among the most intelligent birds on earth, and they offer us a daily reminder that remarkable wildlife can be found right next to us, even in the most familiar places”.