The intelligence of magpies and crows
If you ask yourself „What the smartest bird in the world is?” – owl would be the first thing that will probably pop up to your mind. In Greek mythology an owl traditionally accompanies Athena – the goddess of wisdom. Because of such association, the bird is used as a symbol of knowledge, perspicacity and erudition throughout the Western culture.
In my post I want to introduce the real birds geniuses –
crows and European magpies (also called the common magpie) . Both of them
represents Corvids – birds family including crows, ravens, magpies, nutcrackers
and more. A family with remarkable intelligence for animals of their size. Some
of the spacies demostrated self-awerness by passing cognitive experiment called
the „mirror test” and tool making ability.
Magpie is known by its black and white feathers and
blueish/greenish (sometimes purple) accents on their wings. Their brain-to-body
mass ratio equals that of aquatic mammals and great apes. Outmatch only by that
of humans.
What’s more
intresting, corvids are very social birds with strong sense of community and
great teamwork. Male and female usually bond for whole life, building nests and
taking care of young chicks together. Young crows can play social games and
magpies can use tools to portion food for their young. When one of them dies,
they will group around the body for a „funeral” and squawk in grieve.
As I mentioned before, magpies demostrated their
ability to recognize themself in the mirror. In the video below we can see that
the feeling of the mark on the magpies’ neck does not alarm them. When the bird
catches a glimpes of itself in the mirror – that’s when the bird starts to
scratch neck to get rid off the mark.
Another fascinating experiment shows that crows can
see difference between water and sand, decide wich objects are light/ heavy,
hollow/solid, wide/narrow and even determine the water level. In every case
crows easliy figured out what to do to get the treat and how achieve the goal
in the simplest way possible.
For sure corvids are mesmerizing birds and after
gaining knowledge about them, some people starts to dream about
getting/breeding one. Unfortunately most people fail to recognise the amount of hard work and self discipline it takes to be able to train such creatures fully disregarding their wild nature.
- Are you a cat, dog or maybe bird person? Have you ever consider keeping parrot as a pet?
- Do you know any story/situation in which magpies or crows showed their cleverness?
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/story/eurasian-magpie-a-true-bird-brain
https://earthfireinstitute.org/story/the-intelligence-of-magpies/
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/uoe-llb020518.php
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14552-mirror-test-shows-magpies-arent-so-bird-brained/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_of_Athena
1.
I’ve never heard about the intelligence of the magpies but to be honest I can say that it was to be expected. I remember when I was a child and I’ve often heard stories about magpies stealing some kind of blinking jewelry. It was the first sign to think about them as an intelligent creature. I’m not a pet person so I haven’t ever considered having a parrot in my house. My friends have a parrot and to be honest it’s very annoying. They sometimes have to argue with here and they admit that this parrot is very stubborn.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThan you for your comment! Oh yes, I agree that parrots can be very annoying sometimes!
DeleteTo be honest I didn’t know that magpies are such intelligent animals. I admit that after watching the movies you’ve attached, I was quite shocked. I wouldn’t consider myself a cat / dog / bird person, I like all animals equally! 😊 It’s funny you’ve asked about keeping parrot as a pet because I actually have one! I used to have a cat as well. I don’t know any stories or situations about magpies or crows but if I ever come across an article about them, I will read it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, to be fair when I watched videos I was quite suprised too.. I knew they were smart but not that smart to solve this kind of problems so fast! You do have parrots? That's fantastic, I have two lovebirds, I adore them so much but they're driving me crazy sometimes!
Delete1. When I was a kid, my dad always told me that magpies and crows are very intelligent birds, maybe that's where my knowledge of them comes from. Unfortunately, I didn't know a lot of the information you presented in the article, such as the fact that they group around the body for a "funeral" and squawk in grieve - something amazing!
ReplyDelete2. Basically I'm a person who loves animals, but mostly dogs and cats. Currently, I am a happy owner of a cat, which is the apple of my eye. I love training animals! I have trained my two dogs, one even in his late teens when he was 13 years old. My cat also know a few tricks, I try to train him every day, so the repeated actions are not forgotten by him. Unfortunately, I have never thought about having a parrot, I am more fascinated by snakes 😊
3. I don't know any story, but often when my cat (unfortunately she is no longer with me) was hunting, she would catch big birds like crows, magpies or rooks. It was very interesting for me to watch her - a small cat hunting such big birds! Additionally, I had the opportunity to observe their behavior. I think I may have seen a funeral of one of them once in my life, but I am not sure.
Thank you for your comment! I'm glad to hear that you're good at training your pets - it's so importnat for them to feel secure and have connection with the owner (and spend time with you of course). Observing a hunting cat must've been fascinating for you. I also do agree that snakes can amaze people - when I was a teenager I literally considered having snake as my pet (ofc my parents said no..)
DeleteDid you know that magpies were that intelligence?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I have never been interested about magpies. Birds are not my interest. I didn't know that these are suchmimo intelligent birds even though I see them almost every day.
Are you a cat, dog or maybe bird person? Have you ever consider keeping parrot as a pet?
In the past I was a dog person, but since I have my own little cat I'm definitely a cat person. In my opinin cats are the most wonderful animals in the world. I know that a lot of people would not agree with me, but there are always as many opinions as people.
As I mentioned before - I'm not keen on birds, so I've never consider keeping parrot as a pet.
Do you know any story/situation in which magpies or crows showed their cleverness?
Unfortunately I dont know any story about that, but I hope I would get to know some from other comments :)
I've heard that those birds are inteligent but I didn't know that much. I knew the most populat fact about mugpies that they collect shiny objects but I've never seen them doing that. My great grand father used to keep a crow as a pet but he never kept in a cage. It was indeed a very clever bird.
ReplyDeleteI have always consider myself as a cat person, I've always loved them but recently I've adopted a dog few months ago and now I like both equaly. Besides I've always wanted to have a parrot, especially the talkative one.
Yes, stories abour magpies stealing shiny things are pretty common. I envy your great grand father - keeping a wild crow have to be a wonderful experience.
DeleteDid you know that magpies were that intelligent?
ReplyDeleteYes, of course I knew that. Apart from stereotypes about an owl, crows also often act as a symbol of wisdom, for example, in old Soviet cartoons.
Are you a cat, dog or maybe bird person? Have you ever consider keeping parrot as a pet?
Definitely a dog! I really love dogs and dream of getting dog and not only one. To have a big house with a large yard and many dogs and other animals too хD ... well probably I will live in some kind of Nature reserve хD
Do you know any story / situation in which magpies or crows showed their cleverness?
Yes, I know one interesting story, I don't remember in what country it was. One man taught crows to collect trash! They collected various small garbage, threw it into a special bin and received food for it.
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DeleteOh I truly didn't know that in old Soviet cartoons, crows were used as a symbol. That's intresting. I understand your love for dogs completely! I love them too, and having a big yard for more working type dogs is one of my dreams. Thank you for your story with trash collecting - that's wonderfull and I hope that this idea could be implemented in most countries!
DeleteDid you know that magpies were that intelligent?
ReplyDeleteI heard about their intelligence but I didn't know they where that intelligent.
Are you a cat, dog or maybe bird person? Have you ever consider keeping parrot as a pet?
I am definitely a dog person, i don't like cats and they don't like me.
I didn't consider to get a winged pet, but my friend had a parrot and it didn't bother me.
Do you know any story/situation in which magpies or crows showed their cleverness?
I don't recall such story
Certainly, I didn't. As You assumed the first bird that comes to my mind when we talking about intelligence is an owl, parrot then a pigeon I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm a dog-lover :p I've never thought about owning any other kind of animal, maybe a cat but it never happened. In my opinion, dogs are the best companion for people, You can rely on them and leave with them instead of beside them. I'm not familiar with any other animal which can live with you and there is easy access to it. So I'm not talking about monkeys, elephants, etc.
To be honest I'm not familiar with any situation of this kind. Maybe besides the situation when crowds of these birds appear when a dangerous situation is coming.
And that's intresting - pigeon? I think they're more "street smart" and to be honest now i'm thinking if they're social birds also... but don't think so.
DeleteThe only characteristic of magpies that I know is a penchant for shiny objects. With the feeder on the balcony, I can observe two magpies that appear almost every day. I think this is also a sign of their intelligence because they remember where to come to eat. Sometimes they check several times a day for anything new.
ReplyDeleteI love dogs and cats, but I also considered having parrots. I gave up on this idea because I wouldn't like to keep them locked up all the time. Do you have birds at home? If so, please write more about it. :)
Yes I do have birds! Two lovebirds - They have pretty big cage with tons of toys and I let them fly free (in room ofc) almost everyday for a few hours. Now when everything's online and I'm staying home all day I can allow them to be more outside of the cage then I used to before. If you want to get a parrot I highly reccomend getting one from a proffesional breeder and be sure that little birdie was fed by hand (or make sure that bird isn't scared of the hand in general) Otherwise you can face a problem where you'r new friend is too afraid to even get close to you and this will have a negative impact of both your and birdies wellbeing (mines are scared of me and it's so sad to not be able to interact with them as I used to with my first parrot. Also this can cause stress for them)
DeleteGreat, thanks a lot for the tips! At the moment, I rather can't decide on another animal, but maybe someday in the future I will become a bird mother ... 🤭😂
DeleteI did not know that magpies are that intelligent. that is an interesting fact. As of my experience (about jackdaws) I can say they are little devious bastards. I do not know why but I dont like corvids. They seem horrible.
ReplyDeleteI have not ever thought about a bird in my home. I have seen plenty of videos about funny parrots and I must say I like to watch birds. The truth is I don't want to have one of them in my home, my grandpa has 2 canaries and there is so much to do to take care of them. As for me my dog is all I need.
Personally, I do not know about any evidences/ prooves for corvids intelligence but I do not deny it :)
Oh my, funny videos with birds can be a real entertainment. I also agree that birds require lot's of care and hard work.
DeleteActually, I saw a few documentaries about magpies and I find this topic very interesting. When I watched the first documentary I was shocked by how clever these birds are. I am a happy owner of a dog and I always thought that dogs are the most understanding and capable animals. I also had a parrot when I was a child. I remember that I have tried to learn him to talk but all my attempts have failed 🙂
ReplyDeleteFor me especially this social aspect of their intelligence is fascinating. To be honest not parrots have the mimic ability - I think that this skill also depends on the bird's breed, some of them are more naturally gifted in this filed.
Delete1. That's amazing, I had no idea they are such intelligent creatures. I wonder to know how many people in the world are enslaved because of this on their own whim ..
ReplyDelete2. I have two cats - but I love all animals. My friend has parrots. Thanks to hers experience, I know that I do not want to have cockatiels in my home, never ever. They are noisy and unfortunately very dirty while flying but I understand why people love them - they are very intelligent.
3. Only from the Polish film "Akademia Pana Kleksa".
Thanks for your reply! Cats are magical creatures, I adore them so much, but unfortunately they don't love me back most of times. I'm so sorry for your friend - cockatiels can be an angels or little demons, nothing between. They're screaming mercilessly and fact, they can be dirty. To be honest I've never seen the Akademia Pana Kleksa, so I have no clue about these sotries
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ReplyDeleteI heard that corvids are very intelligent animals. I really like ravens - they are one of my favorite animals. They have beautiful black, shiny feathers, a sharp beak, they look a bit dangerous and they croak nice: D
ReplyDeleteI guess I am neither a dog nor a cat person, or a bird. I like all these animals, even though I have a cat. Unfortunately, I have never seen a ravens' intelligence show. Although I know one crow that comes to my windowsill to rummage in my pots. I have to admit she is determined!
Ravens are one of my favs too! When I see one I find it as a good omen (even tho most of times corvids are considered as death/bad luck omens)
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ReplyDeleteI heard that magpies not only recognise other individual magpies but even other people’s faces!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely dog, I need to have one human which I love with me.
I know only this that Magpies are very curious, just like their relatives, the jays and crows. They may sometimes pick up shiny things, but they don’t show any preference for shiny over dull. A magpie’s more likely to grab your sandwich than your silver.
Looking at the streets of Warsaw, which are full of these birds, I noticed their intelligence. I haven't heard or seen about experiments. Very interesting are these videos. And I appreciate even more their smartness.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a cat person! Once such an idea of having a parrot crossed my mind, fortunately it passed quickly. Now I know how unhappy these animals are, usually kept in unsuitable conditions.
Once, while driving in a car, I noticed crows dropping nuts on the street. I wondered what was going on, because it was not the first time. It was not until later that I noticed that they were picking up the leftovers that had been split by the cars 🧐
Thank you for your comment! Unfortunately you're right - parrots are often kept in way too small cages, without the abality to strech their wings properly.
Delete1) In Game of Thrones I saw tjat Ravens are really really smart :)
ReplyDeleteunfortunately never in person or real life :)
2) I am definitely a dog fan !!! I have a black german shepherd. It's called Mamba and I could probably talk about it for hours but I would go astray :)
3) Mamba likes to chase magpies and wait for them :)