1.I know what you're thinking. You think that crows aren't that cool, and you know what? That's okay. There's time for you to change. Let's start with the basics! First, they start out pretty cute. Check out this baby! Very fluffy, very cute.
2.Next crow fact? They mate for life. And though they meet sexual maturity by age two, a lot of them don't reproduce until later than that. They're just waiting to meet that special someone, y'know?
3.They also exhibit "cooperative breeding behavior" which means that they watch out for the mom while she's incubating, and they all help feed the babies until they're self-sufficient. Some offspring even stay to help out with the next batch of babes.
4.Also pretty cool? A group of crows is called a murder. That's right. A MURDER. That right there? That's a MURDER ON A HIGH WIRE.
5.If that isn't enough for you, maybe you'll appreciate that crows are considered by researchers to be amazingly (disconcertingly?) smart and social. Groups of crows (aka MURDERS) develop their own dialects, differentiating them from crows in other areas.
6.Oh, also? They can recognize different human faces. Recognize and react to them. Researchers in Seattle captured seven crows while wearing masks. After they released them, the crows remembered the masks and attacked them whenever they saw them.
7.If the researchers wore different masks, the crows didn't pay attention to them. As soon as they put the offending masks on though, the crows started cawing and swooping at them.
8.Not only will they recognize you, but they'll tell their friends about you. And they'll know how to treat you too. The Seattle researchers soon realized that all of the crows in the area acted aggressive toward them when they were wearing the masks.
9.And after they have their minds made up about you, they won't forget you. That's right, they have great memories, too. Two years after the experiment began, the Seattle crows were still knew to attack the same masks when they saw them.
10.And then? Then they'll tell future generations. And those generations will tell THEIR future generations. So you'll go down in crow history. See, the researchers realized that not all the crows had seen them firsthand.
11.Instead, they had been told about the masks by other crows, described in detail so that all were aware of what they looked like. Even the youngsters were informed. They became crow legend, passed down from generations. #NEVER4GET
12.Oh, and just in case you're not completely convinced that crows are the best, you should know that they learn from their mistakes. Every year thousands of crows migrated through Chatham, Ontario. Until one farmer got fed up and shot one of the crows...
13.After the shooting, all of the crows flew away. The crows then knew not to fly too low near settled areas. Guess how many more crows got killed that year. Just guess. ZERO. Don't mess with crows.
14.Oh, and you should also know that not only do crows use tools, they are able to MAKE THEIR OWN TOOLS. The crow pictured below, Betty, is seen having fashioned a hook out of wire so that she could pull a basket out of the tube.
15.And just when you think this is merely a cool trick she learned... get this: SHE HAD NEVER SEEN THE TUBE OR THE WIRE BEFORE. If that doesn't indicate genius, I don't know what would.
16.Crows are also really good at learning adaptive behavior. They're known to memorize routes of garbagemen to know when to get some tasty snacks. AND they memorize which of the truck drivers are nice enough to open cans for them! Talk about savvy.
17.So maybe you're not convinced. Maybe the crow still isn't your favorite animal. That's all right! But just remember one thing...
18.The crows will find out about this. And when they do they will find you, remember you, teach their friends about you, teach their children about you, and FASHION TOOLS TO TAKE YOU DOWN.
19.So, uh, maybe you should reconsider. No pressure, though!
