# Crows: The Intelligent Language Discriminators of the Animal Kingdom
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Chapter 1: The Fascinating World of Crows
Did you know that crows can differentiate between various human languages? These intelligent birds are not just adept at recognizing faces; they also become more alert when they encounter an unfamiliar language.
Matsuo Bashō, a renowned poet from Japan's Edo period, once captured the essence of nature in his haiku. However, today, our focus shifts to the incredible cognitive abilities of crows and their capacity to distinguish between different languages.
Crows possess remarkable intelligence, allowing them to remember human faces tied to stressful experiences for up to five years. They communicate warnings to their peers and even use tools to extract food from challenging locations. As I wander through my neighborhood, I often contemplate the meaning behind their calls. Recent research has revealed that these birds are not just passive observers of human interaction; they actively comprehend our language.
Section 1.1: The Memory of Crows
Beware of how you treat a crow; it can remember your face. Research from the University of Washington in Seattle showcased how crows can recall human faces associated with negative experiences for years.
In a study, researchers donned a caveman mask while trapping, banding, and releasing crows across various locations. They observed that the crows reacted strongly to the caveman mask, exhibiting signs of distress, unlike the control mask depicting former Vice President Dick Cheney, which elicited little response. Notably, 20% of the crows at one site showed anger towards the caveman mask shortly after their capture, a response that increased to 60% five years later, indicating that knowledge about the perceived threat had spread among the crows.
Those who feed crows can communicate with them through auditory signals, such as whistling or calling. Interestingly, crows can differentiate between human voices. For instance, a hand-reared carrion crow may show more interest in unfamiliar sounds than familiar ones, suggesting that they may perceive strangers as potential threats.
Section 1.2: Language Discrimination in Crows
A recent study explored the language discrimination abilities of crows. Researchers focused on eight wild large-billed crows captured in urban Japan and cared for by Japanese speakers at Keio University. The findings were presented at The Evolution of Language conference earlier this year.
The study involved playing recordings from various speakers using either Dutch or Japanese. The crows displayed little reaction to the familiar sounds of Japanese. However, when exposed to the unfamiliar Dutch language, they became alert, moving closer to the source of the sound. This indicates that these birds possess the ability to recognize and respond to different languages.
Next time I converse in English around my relatives in Japan, I will certainly be more cautious. Thank you for exploring this remarkable topic with me today.
Chapter 2: Understanding Crow Language
The second video titled "Crow Language - What They Might Be Saying" delves deeper into the communication patterns of these intelligent birds, shedding light on their intricate social interactions and the implications of their language recognition skills.
References
- [Crow Quotes](www.goodreads.com)
- [Matsuo Bashō](en.wikipedia.org)
- [Never Cross a Crow](theconversation.com)
- [Carrion Crows and Voice Differentiation](www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- [EvoLang 13 Proceedings](brussels.evolang.org)
- [Social Learning Among Crows](royalsocietypublishing.org)