4 Ways Crows Have Displayed Their Intelligence: From Solving Puzzles to Using Tools

You might have heard the term “bird brain”, but this slight doesn’t apply to crows (or any birds for that matter). Crows stand out as remarkable problem solvers and tool users. These feathered geniuses have captivated researchers and bird enthusiasts with their astonishing cognitive abilities – so we are sharing some of our favorites with you!

1. Food Puzzle

Source: rationalstabs/Youtube

This amazing crow, nicknamed 007, solves an eight-step puzzle to get food. While food is a great motivation, this video truly shows the intelligence of these creatures!

2. Tool Use Experiment

Source: NAMExTAKEN/Youtube

This researcher put together a tool-based puzzle to see if a crow would be able to figure it all out. To everyone’s surprise, the crow easily figured it out!

3. Tool Making!

Source: Nat Geo WILD/Youtube

This video reveals that crows have moved beyond just doing puzzles and using tools — they have learned to craft their own tools!

4. The NYT Does Their Own Experiment

Source: The New York Times/Youtube

Scientists are still attempting to understand the limits of crow intelligence. The New York Times set up a series of experiments to push their smarts to the limits. For example, this crow dropped stones into the water to raise the level and get a piece of floating food.

The intelligence of crows goes beyond flight and song like other birds. These birds possess unique cognitive abilities!

Animals Are My Favorite People by Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection

Related Content:

• Swedish City Uses Wild Crows to Clean Up Cigarette Butts
• Study Shows Crows Are Capable of Recursion, a Communication Skill Thought to Be Distinctively Human
• Trained Crows Are Cleaning Up Litter in a French Amusement Park. Why In the World Aren’t People Responsible For This?!
• Woman Rescues Special Needs Crow From Streets of Moscow

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!