Crow: The clever bird that caches food and plans ahead

The crow may be one of the smartest birds in the world: it uses tools, remembers where it hid food, and can even "work out" what other birds are thinking. Its brain is small, but its abilities are astonishing. Let's meet this "brainbox" of the bird world.

Its body

The crow measures about 40 to 55 centimetres and is covered in black. Look closely, though, and its "black" feathers are not so simple — in sunlight they glint purple and green. That is a structural colour, made by the tiniest structures on the feather surface reflecting light. It has a strong bill for cracking nuts, tearing food, and even for use as a tool.

How clever it is

Crows cache food and remember hundreds or thousands of hiding places; they drop stones into a bottle to raise the water level so they can drink; and they can even "think about" what another crow knows — judging whether a rival saw where they hid something, and whether to move it. Such abilities are rare among birds. They are social and gather at dusk in roosts of hundreds.

Where it lives and what it eats

Crows are omnivores, eating fruit, seeds, insects and small animals, and also scavenging human food waste. They adapt extremely well and can live from forest to city — a classic "opportunist".

A note for grown-ups

You could watch a crow with a child: what is it doing, and how does it look for food? Then tell the story of the crow that raises the water level — it really does solve the problem. Showing a child that cleverness is not only a human trait is a wonderful lesson.