Are crows getting smarter?

[buck460XVR]

I've hunted crows off and on for 50 years. Most of the time it was opportunistically and not an intentional "crow hunt". I learned to call crows with my mouth as a kid, so anytime while hunting and things were getting slow and I heard crows in the distance, I would call and have a chance at shooting one or two. Very seldom did I get more than that from a flock, before they learned and advertised to others there was trouble. Best time I had was when I wounded a bird and it continued to call to it's friends as it lie on the ground. Even then, I only got one or two more before the rest of the flock sat in a tree outta shotgun range and called frantically. I've found that for aggressive birds, the best way to call them is with a predator call using wounded prey sounds. Even then I only get one or two from that spot or flock before they just sit in a tree outta range. Years back I had GWP that was so used to me calling to crows on those days when grouse and woodcock were hard to find, that it would sit next to me and look at the sky after I called. Strange thing was, he could tell me when and where the crows were coming from before I could see them coming in thru the trees. I always suspected he heard either the sound of their wings or some other subtle sound on a frequency I couldn't as it wasn't a sight thing. He would cock his head over in a direction similar to when he was pointing ground birds and within a few seconds, a crow would fly over. It happened regularly enough that it wasn't coincidence and I got so after I called, I watched him instead of the sky. He would never go pick them up tho, even tho he would retrieve every other game bird after being shot, including woodcock(which many bird-dogs refuse to do). I think he hated them as much as I did.

 

[entropy]

No, we are getting dumber.

Seriously, yes, I think they are. They still hate owls, though, and I have exploited that weakness repeatedly.

 

[Patocazador]

My dog will retrieve everything ... except a possum. She kinda likes fetching crows.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

I've always known them as super smart. Like others have said, getting the scout is important. A lot of times my brother or I would stand at the deck door and they would watch us (human decoy), while the other one would sneak out the back door and around the house to take a shot. Eventually they started posting guard at all of our exit points!

I remember someone a few years ago posting about how to crows would follow him and his wife every night as they walked their dog. When they would do an about-face to head back home the crows would follow them all the way back. I don't recall why the crows started doing this but I believe it was because he had saved one from some sort of peril.

 

[Bobson]

They know the difference between a shotgun and a fishing rod. When fishing, they will land right next to me but if I have a shotgun they won't fly anywhere near me.

I'd heard this sort of thing before. On more than one occasion, I saw a crow or three out in the yard, and I walk out with a broom handle. Shoulder it and point it at the birds as one would with a long gun, and they sit there and stare back. Go back in, come out with a gun in hand, and they fly away.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I remember in jr high reading a story about a crow that was thirsty and couldn't drink from a jar as the level was too low so he went and picked up stones and dropped them into the jar to raise the level until he could drink

Aesop's fable, but an oft repeated experiment as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGaUM_OngaY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7cw_9AT5hg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT7_1Ng6kcU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYNkvMAfsuM

 

[zb338]

You have to have a good caller, some decoys put in the right place
and be totally camouflaged. You can't leave your face or even your
hands uncovered. You can't move around in the blind when they are
coming in to your decoys. Good luck!

Zeke

 

[22-rimfire]

Some how crows know the difference between a rifle or shotgun. I find them amazing. They are incredibly smart and learn quickly. As mentioned, they seem to know the difference between a fishing rod and a rifle as well.

 

[rcmodel]

Growing up on a cattle farm 60 years ago, you couldn't get within 200 yards of a crow with a 22 rifle.

So I moved up to a .222 Rem, and later, a 22-250.

Now in the city, they set on the lights in the grocery store parking lot and wait for somebody to drop a bag.
Have to honk the horn to get them out of the way sometimes.

I remember someone a few years ago posting about how to crows would follow him and his wife every night as they walked their dog

That was probably me.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=9365206&postcount=6

We had a raucous look-out tag-team walking the dog every day until an acquaintance killed them for no good reason.

We called them Heckle & Jeckle, and I'm convinced they knew their names!!

rc

 

[rudderusa]

vtsteve,

The long feathers at the tip of a birds wings, the pinion feathers, provided the conclusion that ravens and crows differ. A raven has four pinion feathers and a crow has five pinion feathers. So........................... The difference between ravens and crows is a matter of a pinion.

 

[rcmodel]

OMG!!!!!

You didn't just say that?

Yes, you did!!

Good one sir!!!

rc

 

[rodwha]

Very good indeed!

 

[witchhunter]

One day back in the 80's while I was sighting in my brand new .177 RWS pellet gun, I saw a crow being harassed by a starling . The crow laded in an elm tree by the shop and I slipped out to the doorway and whacked the starling. The crow flew down and landed 10-15 feet from me. He thanked me and flew off. A few minutes later, I heard a crow outside, when I went out to see, he flew down to the same spot and brought me a walnut. Then he flew back up tot he pole. He would stop by for several years after that. Once he brought his girlfriend (or boyfriend, I don't know) to meet me. I still have that walnut!

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Short answer: Yes, pretty much always.

Longer answer: They are way up there in nature's showroom of adaptive behavior but it seems to be a diminishable thing with them.

The plus side is that it isn't hereditary other than learned behavior.


Todd.

 

[JimKirk]

I once read of a study done by a group of students ... they poured out feed/seeds within a short distance of an old barn setting in the middle of a pasture ... crows gathered... as they would walk out the crows would leave and then the people would go in the barn ... stay a short period and then leave ...

The group started with two individuals ... if one stayed in the barn and the other left the crows would not come back to until the other person left the barn ... they would add one person to the group each time they went to the barn ... leaving one person behind...

The crows would not come back until the number in the group neared 20 ... leaving the one behind ....

So from this study ... maybe crows can count may to 20 before getting confused ...

Which may prove that crows are smarter than many students ...

 

[MtnCreek]

....... They still hate owls, though, and I have exploited that weakness repeatedly.

I've done the same with hawk sounds. I have a mouth call that works as a crow or you can blow through the side to make a hawk sound. Works well.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

That was probably me.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost....06&postcount=6

We had a raucous look-out tag-team walking the dog every day until an acquaintance killed them for no good reason.

We called them Heckle & Jeckle, and I'm convinced they knew their names!!

rc

That was it!

Do you know why they started following you guys? It cracks me up that they used to do that.