Crows: Facts about the clever birds that live all over the world

Crows are extremely intelligent. They're known for their problem-solving, amazing communication skills, and ability to recognize humans. In fact, research shows that crows remember the faces of people they don't like and even pass this information to other crows in their flock.

Crows also seem to have complex social behaviors. Researchers have found that when one crow dies, flocks gather around the dead, almost like a funeral. Scientists think this may help the crows learn what killed the crow so they can avoid that threat.

These cunning birds are math whizzes, too. Crows can count out loud, and they understand the concept of zero. In some ways, crows are as clever as toddlers or small children, and on one test of intelligence, they even beat monkeys.

Ravens and crows are related, but they are different. You can tell the two apart primarily by their size; ravens are larger and closer in size to hawks. Crows also tend to travel in large flocks, whereas ravens are more often seen in pairs. They also have different tail feathers. Crow tail feathers are all the same length, so when a crow is flying, its tail looks like a handheld fan. A raven, on the other hand, has longer feathers in the middle of its tail, so it looks like an arrow shape when the raven flies. Lastly, crows are known for their distinctive cawing sound, whereas ravens have low, croaking voices.

Crows are omnivores, which means they eat nearly anything. Crows eat small mammals, amphibians and reptiles, as well as eggs and the remains of dead animals. They also eat bugs, seeds, grains, nuts, fruit, mollusks, worms and even other birds. Crows sometimes dig through human garbage for a snack, and they're known to hide their food and save it for later.

Like parrots, some crows can learn to mimic human speech. The way birds make sounds is very different from the way we do, though. Humans can speak because of our larynx, or voice box. When air from our lungs passes through the larynx, our vocal cords vibrate, which creates sound waves we recognize as speech. Crows don't have a larynx, though. They have a different vocal organ, called a syrinx, that they use to make noises.