CROWS CARRY A GRUDGE, PASS IT ALONG TO OTHER CROWS...

           A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B indicates that American crows recognize individual human faces, remember those who have harmed them or members of their species, and even pass along that information to other crows.  In a story currently on discovermagazine.com, additional information has been gathered about this phenomenon.
           Five years ago a University of Washington zoologist named John Marzluff and a team of researchers captured, banded, and released American crows at five sites in the Seattle area.  In each case and at each site, rubber masks were worn by the researchers.  The captured crows would raise hell in their cages, and other crows from the murder (a flock of crows?) circled and sounded the alarm, often dive bombing and threatening the masked researchers.
           Later, after all of the birds had been released, the researchers returned to the sites, sans masks.  They received little attention from crows in each area.  But as soon as they showed up wearing the masks those crows had seen during the abductions of their friends, they would immediately go into alarm mode.  Birds that were fledged years after the initial capture and banding experiment would automatically join in, and the offspring of THOSE birds would be on alert for those particular masks when they were in the area.  It is unknown whether the birds are actually communicating a dangerous human's identity to other crows who have not actually witnessed threatening behavior, or if these younger birds are merely taking part in the "mobbing" as part of a ritual among crows.
          According to the article, a year after the banding incident 30% of the crows recognized the mask and reacted with alarm.  After three years, 66% of the crows reacted to the masks, and that percentage continues to grow with each additional generation of crows.

         

             It's been widely reported that crows, raven, and rooks are among the smartest of the avian world.  Here's something you can look for yourself:  the next time you see a crow or two on the ground, take note of the elevated places nearby.  You'll almost always find at least one crow perched in a treetop, or on a power line, overseeing the others.  I've always called this crow the "watchcrow" because he seems to be looking out for the others from a good vantage point.  Sooner or later one of the crows on the ground will fly up to the other crow's position, and that crow will then go to the ground to feed or snoop around in its place.
             A couple of years ago I read or heard (can't find this to save my ass...) about flocks of rooks gathering to witness one individual rook's performance.  If the birds like the show, they fly off together.  If the performance, confession, or whatever it is, displeases the rest of the flock, they're likely to swarm and kill the offending performer.  If anyone knows what this phenomenon is called, please leave a comment!  It's driving me crazy!
             They've been known to come together in great flocks to mourn the death of one of their own, in what witnesses have described as an eerie silence that can last for more than several minutes.  It's also been reported that crows will avoid a location where another crow has been killed or trapped, sometimes for years.
             Sometimes I think they know more about us than we do about them...