If you haven't figured it out yet, I love crows. Love their wily, crafty nature. Love their ability to co-exist with humans in cities meant to keep wildlife out. Love their call, their glossy black-on-black-on-black look, the way that they divide people into two groups: those who love crows, those who hate crows, and those who are left deeply unsettled and frightened by crows.
I'm always on the look-out for interesting crow stories, bits of crow research, and good books about crows. What's on my nightstand right now? Seattle writer Lyanda Lynn Haupt's latest release, Crow Planet.
So here's a bit of crow trivia for you today, compliments of NPR:
"Here's a surprise: Wild crows can recognize individual people. They can pick a person out of a crowd, follow them, and remember them — apparently for years. But people — even people who love crows — usually can't tell them apart."
Visit here for NPR's The Crow Paradox (7/27/09 Morning Edition). You'll find an animated video showing how crows recognize individual people, a radio piece about crows keeping grudges, and an interactive "name that crow" quiz. (I got the quiz right on the first try!).
Caw!
