Remarkable Intelligence of the Corvid Birds Podcast

Host: I just read this wild article about crows and ravens, and now I feel kind of dumb, honestly.

Guest: Ha, why's that?

Host: Because apparently calling someone a -- Select -- bird brain sharp as a tack on par with hold a grudge giving me the cold shoulder is basically an insult to actual birds. These things are geniuses.

Guest: Oh, corvids? Yeah, I've read about this before. They're -- Select -- sharp as a tack on par with hold a grudge giving me the cold shoulder pay it back.

Host: Exactly. They actually make tools — bending twigs into hooks to fish bugs out of holes.

Guest: That's not just instinct, that's basically -- Select -- on par with hold a grudge giving me the cold shoulder pay it back for show what chimps can do.

Host: Right? And get this — if a raven decides it doesn't like you, it will -- Select -- hold a grudge giving me the cold shoulder pay it back for show hold it against me for years.

Guest: Okay, that's terrifying. I do not want a bird -- Select -- giving me the cold shoulder pay it back for show hold it against me watch my step for the rest of my life.

Host: Ha, seriously. But the flip side is, if you're kind to them, they actually -- Select -- pay it back for show hold it against me watch my step playing mind games — dropping little shiny gifts at your feet.

Guest: That's so sweet, actually. Like a tiny feathered thank-you card.

Host: And it's not just -- Select -- for show hold it against me watch my step playing mind games turns everything on its head either — it's real reciprocity. They remember faces for years.

Guest: Wait, so if I'm rude to a crow in the park, it's going to -- Select -- hold it against me watch my step playing mind games turns everything on its head out of the corner of my eye forever?

Host: Basically, yeah. There's research showing crows can even warn other crows about a specific person.

Guest: Okay, I am officially going to -- Select -- watch my step playing mind games turns everything on its head out of the corner of my eye keeping tabs on around crows from now on.

Host: Smart move. They trick each other too — pretending to hide food in one spot while secretly stashing it somewhere else.

Guest: So they're basically -- Select -- playing mind games turns everything on its head out of the corner of my eye keeping tabs on just in case with each other over snacks.

Host: Pretty much. They've even figured out cause and effect — pulling up a string with their feet to get food dangling on the end.

Guest: That's next-level problem solving for something with a brain the size of a walnut.

Host: Right, it really -- Select -- turns everything on its head out of the corner of my eye keeping tabs on just in case bird brain — this idea that a big brain is the only way to be smart.

Guest: I'll never look at a crow -- Select -- out of the corner of my eye keeping tabs on just in case bird brain sharp as a tack the same way again.

Host: Ha, good, because apparently they're -- Select -- keeping tabs on just in case bird brain sharp as a tack on par with us too.

Guest: Well, in that case, I'm going to be extra polite to every bird I see, -- Select -- just in case bird brain sharp as a tack on par with hold a grudge.

Host: Probably a smart move. You never know who's on the guest list for the neighborhood grudge board.

Guest: Ha, that's it for today then — stay on the crows' good side, everyone!