Are Crows the Smartest Birds in the World?

When you consider the true brainiacs of the animal kingdom it’s usually dolphins, chimpanzees and great apes that come to mind; with the exception of parrots, birds aren’t likely to make most people’s lists. However, research over the past decade is beginning to indicate that crows may not only be the smartest birds, but possibly more intelligent than even chimpanzees.

American crow - Photo by Walter Siegmund

The term “crow” is used to refer to any bird of the 40 or so members of the Corvus genus. Some members of the genus may also be called ravens or jackdaws. Crows can be found throughout most of the world, even introducing themselves to areas where they are not native. Most members of the genus are fairly large birds that are black in color.

Certain species of crows have shown remarkable intelligence not seen elsewhere in birds. New Caledonian crows are known for their tool making. In one test a crow was observed bending a piece of straight wire into a hook to lift a bucket of food from a vertical pipe; it had never been exposed to wire before. These crows also make tools out of grass and sticks to probe for insects in trees, and have even been seen dropping nuts on to busy streets so the heavy cars would crack them. Even more amazing, the crows would then fly down to intersections and only cross into the street with pedestrians to retrieve the nuts safely.

Crows also exhibit complex social behaviors, particularly seen in the common raven. Young ravens tend to make a large fuss when feeding on a carcass in order to attract other juveniles so they can feed in the safety of a group. Adults on the other hand stay whisper quiet when feeding so as not to attract uninvited guests. Like parrots, ravens are capable of mimicking almost any sound they hear, including human speech. They use this ability both to mock and confuse other animals, even mimicking the call of a coyote or wolf to attract them to a carcass that is too thick for the raven to open itself.

Boto Dolphins Use Their Heads

Boto or Amazon River Dolphins are the largest freshwater dolphins alive, growing up to nine feet long and weighing roughly 300 pounds. They are often a pink color, but can also be pale blue and frequently are albino. Because they have poor eyesight, they use the echolocation-bump on their head as a sensory detector to help find food or to protect them from danger. Some reports say that they can even scare of prey with bursts of sound from the organ in their bulging forehead. They can even make the bump change shape too, from flat to spherical.

A Full Night's Rest?

Don’t ever mess with dolphins when they’re asleep: They sleep with one eye open! They rest in a state of unihemispheric sleep, which means that only half of their brain sleeps at a time while the other half stays awake. Throughout a sleep cycle, dolphins will alternate sleep between both sides of the brain, opening and closing each eye whenever the change occurs. Part of them has to be conscious at all times because dolphins are conscious breathers. If they lost complete consciousness during sleep, like humans do, they would suffocate or drown. When they do sleep, they float at the surface of the water with — amazingly enough —one eye wide open.