Haven’t spent a lot of time observing crows, mainly because they hardly ever come into my yard, thought they are nearby very frequently. They definitely monitor the neighborhood. I have heard of people befriending crows, and there is even a subreddit called “crowbro”. I once saw a video of a crow using a jar lid to repeatedly go sledding down a snowy roof, and then there’s the story of Canuck:

https://youtu.be/j4ZeYnNzfrU?si=9sIDwA2GdraR4Yiw

I was repeatedly (over the course of several days) dive bombed by a crow after having done something, I don't know what. It recognized me despite different clothes. Other people were not dive bombed.

While I was attempting to pick the crow out of the line-up, I felt as though I were a contestant on the old game show, To Tell the Truth. "Will the real N7 YETH10 please stand up?" Yes, I'm dating myself horribly. I was just a kid.

Don't have any creative crow stories. However, my wintering Eastern Bluebirds are almost as clever. On cold mornings they perch on the utility wires above my backyard and wait. My morning routine includes brewing a mug of hot tea, feeding the felines (always kept indoors), and resupplying the birds with food. Within moments of my replenishing the mealworm bowl and stepping back into the warm house, the bluebirds descend from the wires onto the patio. I have a sense that they recognize, if not me specifically, at least the behavior of filling the mealworm bowl that this weird-looking two-legged critter carries out each morning.

Ages ago I read an article about birds in general in Smithsonian magazine. What I remember from that article is the observation that the ratio of brain size to body size is highest among birds as compared to any other class of critter. Ergo, calling someone a "birdbrain" is actually paying that person a compliment.

A friend likes to feed the crows in her backyard.  I have watched them gather at the same time every afternoon in her yard waiting for their meal.

I had been putting out some peanuts for the squirrel that I have. A group of crows came in and started getting the peanuts. One I didn't know that crows ate peanuts.  Lately I have been placing a good amount of peanuts out not that I have witnessed crows taking them. But in a few hours the peanuts were gone. I am thinking it was the squirrel but now I am thinking it's the crows coming back to get them.

I live in Central Alberta. Crows are only here in the summer. It seems the same family return. Magpies are here year round. We have a feeder that the magpies can get into. The first summer  the crows watched the magpies and then attempted to get in, but couldn't. The second summer they figured out just how and when to fold their wings. Now they demonstrate to their young who learn quickly how to do it.

The crows know me and do not fly away when I go out side.

I feed the crows in my neighborhood and I know they recognize me, my voice, and my car. They will see me driving home and fly to the trees around my house as I am parking in front of my house. There was one evening this summer when I drove home and a single crow flew up and landed in a low branch by my car. It was looking at me and as I walked up to the feeding spot, I looked down and noticed some kind of fishing tackle on the ground. I don't live anywhere near where people sometimes fish the small creek that runs through town. I assume this crow had brought me a gift! My mind was blown. If this is the case, if the crow did bring me a gift, it was out there doing its thing and thinking about me while I wasn't around. Or at least that's what my non-scientific brain surmises. Also, as I mentioned in a reply to the previous comment, I wonder if the crows I feed also noticed me picking up the occasional feather, because while the crows were molting, there would consistently be a nice crow feather  in the same spot I had once picked up a woodpecker feather. I've also seen them step up on small rocks to get better leverage to break open peanut shells. That probably doesn't count as tool use, but I was impressed that the crow seemed to understand the advantage of leverage.

In the morning, for about a year, I've been giving out peanuts to the crows near the coffee shop I visit. One morning, I found and picked up a wild turkey feather on my walk after getting coffee and treating the crows. After that incident, I kept finding crow feathers in the same spot. After a few days, I started picking them up and taking them home. I think they had noticed that I liked the feathers and were leaving them for me. Then, after a couple of weeks of daily crow feathers in that same spot, I picked one up and dropped it somewhere on my way home. When I got home, there was a similar looking feather, a little rough around the edges, on my balcony.

We live in a rural area in East TN and have 3 different looking dogs. The dogs for years would listen intently when our local crow family gave alarm calls and run to check it out, sometimes finding a fox to chase off, sometimes a raptor.  For years the crows ignored our dogs, and they never came that close to any of us. One day our youngest dog saw a young crow on a lawn that was obviously way too young to fledge.  She has a "soft" mouth for birds and picked up the squawking chick who already had a small injury. Crows appeared.

My wife retrieved the partially feathered chick & we tried to place it in the open nearer the nest area, hoping the crow family would care for it, they didn't. At nite we took it in & attempted to feed and water it, in the morning placed in a fenced area where the crow family frequents.  We saw them sit nearby and observe, but no care.   It was dead the next morning.

Couple days later on a walk in the woods, a single crow came closer than we have ever seen and harassed the 1 dog who have retrieved the crow baby.  It came low in branches directly over her head and gave repeated, loud accusatory CAWS!, following the dog .  We were all surprized, the dog was perplexed.

Since then, all seems to be forgiven by the crows, they forage on our lawn while the same dog relaxes on porch above them.  The dogs still listen and respond to crow alarms.

We love crows.

K.L.

I happened to be parked next to a bakery and spotted a gull tearing up a pastry of some kind at the side of the lot. Three crows stood nearby watching and wanting but the gull was too big for direct confrontation. One crow positioned itself on the other side of the gull about fifteen feet away from the gull. This crow found a shiny wrapper of some kind and started picking it up, flashing it around and making a fuss over it. The gull looked over and moved to it to chase the crow away and get the "prize." After a few seconds the gull realized the trick and turned to see the three crows eating the pastry. The gull flew off at a loss.

During Covid lockdown I worked from home in my dining room. I scattered a few peanuts in the yard outside the window. Around mid-morning, a group of 3 crows would come to eat the peanuts. One would take the peanut to the driveway and 'throw' the peanut with its beak to the pavement. If that didn't help, it would hold the peanut with its foot and peck at the peanut to open it. I always looked forward to their visits.

 

I used to spend my lunch breaks at a park that was skirted by walnut orchards.  At harvest time, the crows were always busy picking walnuts up off of the ground, flying up above the tree level, then dropping the nuts on the pavement in an effort to break the shells.  Sometimes, the nuts would be eaten then and there, other times the birds would fly to the grassy area and bury the nuts in the ground.  I know they were just going about their crow lives, but I found it to be very interesting and great entertainment.

I was feeding my buddy "George" some grapes. One of the grapes was too big for him. So he held the grape with his foot, pierced the grape with his beak, (he looked very funny with a whole grape wrapped around his beak) and then he opened his beak, popping the grape open in the process. He proceeds to enjoy the smaller pieces of grapes. I guess it is similar to the crow opening the trash bag to peak in to see what was in there.

I put some sunflower seeds in my yard on top of a wall.   A crow came over to snack on them and there was a squirrel close by eating them as well.  I saw the crow "start" to peck at the back of the squirrel that was only a few inches away.  Then it stopped and reached up and grabbed the top of a tall leaf of a lily plant - brought it down and released it.  This had the effect of startling the squirrel who moved forward , away from the crow about 6 more inches.  They both proceeded to snack.  It seemed to me that the crow was just wanting a bit more distance to be safe from the squirrel.  I do put food out for the animals, and have bird feeders for the other birds.   I've noticed that the crows aren't concerned about the squirrels, but do have to hop out of the way when the squrrels run around them.  :-)

A few years ago, I brought my lunch to my backyard patio and as I sat down to eat, remembered that I forgot something. I went back inside to get it and and when I returned outside, a crow was on the table eating my sandwich. I angrily chased it away and was about to throw the sandwich out when I decided just to give it to the crow and threw it at him. He returned and and picked away at it. The next day he returned waiting for me, to my surprise. I was sitting on my patio table about the same time as I was the day before. I fed him again and over thce next couple of months, he periodically returned, landed on my toolshed behind my table and waited for me to feed him.  I started leaving food for him on the roof of the shed (cherries were his favorite) and he visited me all spring into the summer. A few times he landed on the table just a few feet from me and we watched each other and I would feed him. It was the first time I had ever been so close to a crow for so long,  Once when I had failed to eat outside for a few days, he even went to the rail on my from door porch and waited for. He also would wait for me if I was out on a walk, on a telephone pole a few houses down from me. When he saw me coming home he would fly to my back yard and wait. He suddenly stopped coming after few months and I never saw him again until the next year.

That next year I was walking down my street and I heard crows cawing. I looked up and saw three crows flying by together when one suddenly pulled away from the other two, turned around and landed on the same telephone pole! I greeted him and he eyed me and when I walked home, he flew and waited for me in the back yard. We then  repeated our lunches in the back yard for a few months. Sometimes other crows would land on trees in my yard and watched or would try to take the food I left for him. I don't know if the other crows were from his family or were just trying to get in on a free meal.  After a couple of months he disappeared again but the next year he did not return, nor did he ever again.

I miss him!  but it was an amazing experience and made me me love crows!

 

I am in the habit of dropping lumps of suet about my back yard.  I have enjoyed watching my local crow family expand their daily search pattern around my back yard looking for the suet as they know that I don't just Leave treats in one spot near the song bird feeders.  The crow family loves the suet treats and almost look proud when they strut around with their prize.

I was feeding a family of crows at home. One of them had one leg. I'm not good at crow recognition, but I knew my one-legged crow, whom I called Bill. One day I was out for a walk in another part of town, and as I approached my car I saw crows in the parking lot. They let me approach fairly close without flying away, which was unusual. Then I saw Bill among them, and it all became clear. These were the crows I fed at home; they were out foraging, and they'd seen my car. The only problem was, I had no peanuts to give them! I frantically searched my bag and found some unsalted almonds I was saving for a snack, and left a handful on a rock for them. I didn't see if the crows accepted my offering of almonds or not. It wasn't the usual meal I left them. But the crows recognizing me and my car totally threw me - it was the first time I'd experienced this.

I was walking home one afternoon when I noticed a crow sitting on a lamp post. As I approached, the crow intentionally dropped a nut in front of my path (a walnut, if I recall correctly). I had seen a documentary about crows and learned that they would drop nuts in front of cars so the vehicles would crack the shells and the crows could retrieve the nuts. I stomped on the walnut, cracking it, and kept walking. A little while I later I looked back and sure enough, the crow flew down to retrieve the nut. What a creative bird.

I work at the Education Dept of a Wildlife Sanctuary. We rehabilitated a Crow and then set him free when he was OK again and good to go. He apparently liked to be with us and didn’t want to leave. He kept following me, coming when I called him, meet me in my car as I drove in daily and landing on my head as I did an education tour.  I named him Little CrowCrow and wrote 2 books about him for children and put videos on YoutTube titled: The Learning Adventures of Little CrowCrow.

One day, I was playing with him, and he was only half playing back with me, he kept looking over to a flock of Ibis to the right of where we were. I stated to look at what he was looking at. He was watching one particular Ibis which had separated from the flock and was foraging for insects or worms. When he say it had found some grub, he looked at me  and just as fast flew like a bullet towards the unsuspecting Ibis who was about 30 feet away. I stood frozen, watching him, praying he was not going to hurt it. What he did was swoop the food the Ibis had found right out of his beak, before the Ibis even realized it, and fly up to a tree branch to eat it. I realized then that he had figured out that if he hung around the Ibis, monitored the ones foraging, and do a fast surprise fly and grab, it was an easy way for him to obtain food!

Our crow couple show up about the same time(s) daily.  At first, they would wait on a roof across the street or on the street light a few feet from our house.  We would leave the house approx the same time to walk our dog and for our dogs return, we would leave a treat of a small cement Garden Gargoyle.  We started coming back from our walk and the treat was not there.  We finally looked at our Ring camera video and saw it was the couple flying in when we got about 1/2 block away. They waddled up to the gargoyle when one kept guard.   It’s been a few years now and they caw when we are supposed to be coming out to walk our dog and when we do leave they fly in and follow us for about a couple of blocks and we sometimes drop a dog treat .

Eventually they started hanging out on our back fence, where I now leave kibble and nuts and a water tray.  They have trained me to give them breakfast and an evening snack.  One (Clubfoot)  lets me get about 3 feet away and keeps that distance.

we have a lot of soldier ants in mid to late summer and they started to go after the crow food that was left from the day before sometimes.  One morning, I could see from the window that Clubfoot and his partner wouldn’t go near the food.  They were cawing angrily.  I went out and saw the trail of the soldier ants and then the mass eating the kibble.  I got the hose spray them off and put new food out and breakfast was served!

I think the crow family in my neighborhood recognizes the squeaky hinge of my front door.  They are often in the yard waiting for me (and the peanuts) by the time I get to the sidewalk.  They also know my dog and followed my son around the block with her when I was gone for a month expecting there to be some peanuts.

My grandparents are BIG bird people, like me and they feed the crows of our town. and every so often the crows will bring them things. like rocks or pinecones. I always thought it was so interesting, it's like the crow's way of saying thank you for feeding them.

Soon after I learned crows like peanuts, I threw a small handful into a clay pot hanging on a fence near our  bird feeders and our squirrel neighbors foraging everywhere they can find a morsel.  All this is hung over with November leafless tree branches.  So, I didn’t have much hope of a crow finding the peanuts before the squirrels ran off with them.  Not long after I threw out the peanuts, there was a crow pecking at and eating peanuts, hopping in and out of squirrels who were running in and taking them off.  The next day, I threw out a few more than I had the first day.  Two crows showed up and had a peanut snack.  Third day, three or four crows.  On the fourth day, there were 5 or 6 crows and they were cawing and cawing before I had come out of the house to throw them the peanuts!  I could see where this was going.  That was the last day I put out any peanuts.  They may have come back to check, but I haven’t seen any since the fourth day.  I may start again, but maybe further from the house!

I have been trying to make friends with the grey-necked crows in my neighborhood, by feeding them on a more regular basis.  The other day, I left out their favorite food and greeted them in a non-threatening way through an open window, hoping they would associate my voice with me and the food.  After awhile, one crow brought something in its beak and set it down before taking food and leaving.  It was a bone!  Which I understand is one of the types of items they "gift."  I can't be sure, but I'd like to think it is the first in a series of gifts.

I have also witnessed a crow poking about and picking up a plastic food container at a trash can.  It was clear so the food could be seen.  The bird was puzzling over how to open it with a perseverance that I would definitely associate with intelligence ... but I was passing through and couldn't stop to observe.

On another occasion, at an outdoor restaurant, I witnessed a very street-savvy crow swoop down to the next table and pull out a sugar packet, hold it upright between it's legs, peck it open and eat the sugar.  I felt the sugar itself wasn't the objective so much as getting my attention to maybe drop some fries, because -- and this is obviously subjective -- the behavior had a performative quality and once the crow had our amused attention, it didn't continue with the sugar packets.  And I did drop food, of course.