Crows

[usedbustickets]

Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.

A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu.  The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.  However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws.

By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.  MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.

He very quickly concluded the cause:  When crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.  They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "Truck."

NOw not a lot of people knew that!!

[Jacqui Harvey]

Very informative.  I hate crows the ones in Turkey are really huge and horrible.  One fact I do know is, crows are very clever but cannot count....true.   So, two farmers shooting them, one farmer goes away, the crows think it is now safe.

[KKOB]

Crows are smart cookies. They can grasp analogies, use tools, and have bested human children in intelligence tests. They’re also decent at counting.

Birds show an ability to keep track of numbers even without the parts of the brain that primates use to count. So how do they do it? A new study in the journal PNAS finds that even though birds and primates evolved with different brain structures, they developed similar neural processes to deal with quantification.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/64743/how-do-crows-count