How smart are animals, especially wild animals. Wild animals need their intelligence to survive. Studies over the past 20 years have revealed that many animals have the ability to reason and the smartest of all animals are certain breeds of birds.
The ravens and crows are considered to be the smartest of all wild birds. Lake County has a large population of both ravens and crows. They are very similar in appearance. The crow is smaller than the raven and when in flight its tail feathers are all the same length. The tail feathers of a raven are longer in the middle. Crows make a caw sound and ravens make a croak. Ravens tend to stay in small groups of two or three, whereas crows will be in larger flocks. Both ravens and crows will eat just about anything. Their foods range from carrion, live mice and other small animals as well as seeds and vegetation. Most ravens and crows live only about seven years. The oldest recorded raven in history lived 29 years.
A study done a few years ago showed that both ravens and crows can recognize people by their faces. In other words, they can pick out a certain individual out of a crowd. They can also be taught to say words. A woman who lives out of Kelseyville told me that she befriended a raven and it stayed on her deck for years. She taught the bird to say her name. When she would walk out on the deck in the morning the raven would say her name perfectly. Ravens often perform aerobatics, including sudden rolls, wing-tucked dives, and playing with objects by dropping and catching them in midair. Ravens will also work in pairs to solve problems.
We all know how crows and ravens will take a walnut and fly over a road and drop it so that the shells shatter on impact. The bird then lands and eats the meat of the nut. Scientists have also discovered that raven and crows will also hover over a roadway, waiting for a car to pass and then fly ahead of the vehicle and drop the walnut so that the car will break open the nut. The bird will then feast on the meat of the nut.
Scientists have discovered that crows and ravens have special brains that allow them to reason and solve problems. Ravens have been known to remove garbage can covers so that they can get food. Ravens also mate for live and there have been cases when one of the pair dies the survivor will often die of loneliness a few weeks later. Scientific studies have shown that a raven will have the intelligence of a four-year-old human. Scientists have long believed that only humans could plan for retirement or to plan for a meal. The raven has shown that the scientists were wrong. Ravens also mate for life and when on dies the other one goes into morning for several weeks.
Scientists have also found out that ravens can also plan for the future. In controlled studies, ravens were taught how to open boxes to obtain food. The boxes were taken away for three days. When placed in front of the ravens they easily opened the boxes to get their food using the method they were taught. In fact, they were successful more than 90 percent of the time. In another experiment, the ravens were taught how to exchange tokens for food. The birds passed the test with flying colors.
Ravens are protected and cannot be hunted. On the other hand, crows can be hunted in California.
The recent findings on the intelligence of crows and ravens once again show that there is a lot we don't know about our fellow birds and other wildlife. The deer that is watching you may just be sizing you up and knows more about you than you realize.
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