Ornithologists have discovered another astonishing ability of crows. These birds use their remarkably sharp minds to seek revenge for years against anyone who dares to offend them.
Professor John Marzluff from the University of Washington conducted an interesting study. In 2006, he caught seven crows in a net on the university campus, attaching tags to the birds. The scientist quickly released the crows unharmed but suspected that the birds might hold a grudge against him if he appeared before them again.
And he was right — the crows indeed held a grudge. Moreover, the birds informed their peers about the offender. Soon after the experiment, Marzluff encountered a flock of crows that included tagged individuals, and 47 out of 52 birds aggressively "cawed" at him. This behavior persisted, and it was only seven years after the experiment that the crows began to "scold" the professor less.
It was not until a walk in 2024 that Marzluff first avoided obstruction from the crows. It turns out the birds remembered his misdeed for a full 18 years.
"It seems that birds have a brain area analogous to the amygdala in mammals, where negative associations are stored as memories. Birds pay very close attention to our actions. The fact that they focus so much on humans was one of the most surprising discoveries in my work with them," shared the ornithologist.
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