Befriending crows offers a unique and rewarding connection to nature, along with some surprising practical and emotional benefits. These highly intelligent birds are known for their strong memory and complex social structures, which allows for unique interactions with humans.
Surprisingly, garden birds provide benefits that might make you reconsider chasing them away. While it may snack on fruit and vegetables, the American crow is also excellent at controlling insects and pests that harm plants. Their sharp intelligence and resourcefulness add a layer of intrigue to their behavior.
Crows are not like people or even dogs, so befriending them is not possible or even desirable, but you can earn their trust by offering a consistent source of clean water all year in a safe place, free of predatory cats or dogs.
Being a "friend" to a crow means providing a safe environment for them - it does NOT mean making a pet of a bird. They are wildlife with an important role to play in the environment. They are the cleanup crew. Admire them, but don't expect a Disney experience.
If you get on a crow's good side instead of bad side, you might just receive a gift from it. Many cases have been documented of crows leaving gifts for humans they like.
Studies show they can remember people who have posed a threat or shown kindness, sometimes for years. Even more astonishing, crows can hold grudges, reacting differently to those they perceive as threats or friends long after an encounter.
The Crow pronounce their greeting as Sho'daache Kahee, which means hello. To greet someone by asking how are you, the Crow say either Diishootaa? or Sho'daache?. The Crow word for goodbye is Deawagawik.
While offering a “gift” outright is unlikely, the crows may have unintentionally left their little foraged treasures at a platform first. Because they do key into human behavior, they may have seen that leaving the items there led to more food being placed on the platform and repeated the action.
Look at the crows: they don't sow seeds or gather a harvest; they don't have storerooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds!
Parrots and the corvid family of crows, ravens, and jays are considered the most intelligent of birds. Research has shown that these species tend to have the largest high vocal centers.
Crows pay close attention to people and can remember specific faces for several years after a single encounter.
Crows are fascinating creatures, known for their intelligence and adaptability. However, like all species in the wild, they have natural enemies that play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance. One of the most significant threats to crows comes from birds of prey—particularly hawks and eagles.
Crows won't become your friends overnight.
It will likely take months for you to become friends with wild crows. Like most wild animals, they don't just instantly trust humans—with good reason. But urban crows tend to be more trusting than rural crows.
Crows can remember the face of a person who they consider a threat—even after generations.
Crows preening each other is called allopreening, which is a social behavior where one bird grooms another's feathers, often around the head and neck, which they cannot easily reach themselves.
These smart birds have been known to bring little treasures to humans who regularly feed them. It's like they saying thanks for the snacks in their own little special way. The crow seems to remember specific people who are kind to them and develop these unique relationships.
In birding circles, it's common to hear about the 5-7-9 rule, which is something you'll definitely want to know! It refers to how you should place your feeder. The ideal spot should be 5 feet off the ground, 7 feet away from any structures (especially trees), and nothing less than 9 feet hanging above it.
One of the ways is by them showing “submissive behavior”, such as bowing or lowering his head while still staring right at you. My wild Crow friend, “Rat”, ( who visited me every day for 15 years, before he died in my garden) would do this each time I stepped out on the back porch to feed him.
One caw = “Hi.” Three caws = Displeasure or “Danger!” Four or more caws = Territorial.
Set out crows' favorite food.
Like many of us, crows enjoy a little junk food, such as unsalted popcorn, crackers, and chips. They'll even eat cat food and dog food. It seems that crows' favorite food is nuts—particularly unsalted, whole peanuts in the shell, although they'll also eat walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts.
A famous study by the University of Washington found that crows can recognize individual human faces, remember them for years, and hold "grudges" against people who treated them poorly.
Elephants are considered to be one of the world's most empathic species as this is displayed throughour their interactions. In the wild, Asian and African elephant calves rely heavily on their mothers and family members for survival, social support, and learning during their first four to five years of life.
Elephants do not have the greatest eyesight in the animal kingdom, but they never forget a face. Carol Buckley at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., for instance, reports that in 1999 resident elephant Jenny became anxious and could hardly be contained when introduced to newcomer Shirley, an Asian elephant.