a wonderful book, just wish there was more of it.
It is a collection of anecdotes and experiments regarding crow behaviour, with some folklore and mythology thrown in and several beautiful illustrations and photos. ( )

For their size (which is how you measure this: the ratio of grey matter to body size overall) the brain of a raven is as large as that of a chimpanzee; and in fact, many people who have studied and lived alongside wild ravens for decades reckon they are more intelligent than chimpanzees. As for relationships, crows in particular are turning out to be intensely social animals, their extended families and networks resembling to a surprising degree those of elephants and, dare I say it, humans.
   Worldwide there are forty-five species of the genus Corvus, which includes crows, ravens, jackdaws and rooks (not magpies or jays, who are their close cousins) and this book is a celebration of everything corvid. It’s a combination of nature observation and science, interspersed throughout with artwork, anecdotes and stories from all around the globe. The illustrations include mediaeval illuminated manuscripts and woodcuts, nineteenth-century engravings, Japanese prints, Arthur Rackham watercolours, some wonderful photographs and even a map of the constellations (there’s a Corvus in the night sky).
   One science-related quibble (page 40): “Evolution is a ruthless master; innovations that don’t pay off are left behind in the fossil beds…” is a complete misunderstanding of the history of life; but that’s a single flaw in what is an otherwise exquisitely produced book—from the quality of the pictures to the fonts used for headings, it’s a work of art in its own right. It brings these birds to life too, so well they almost flap up off the pages at you. Up close they’re stunning—sleek and glossy, faintly iridescent—but it’s those beady eyes, of course, in particular. You see it immediately: these birds aren’t just bright, there’s clearly someone in there weighing you up.
   And my three favourite facts? One: that crows, rusty-hinge caws and all, are technically-speaking songbirds. Two: that a pair of ravens, roosting lovingly together side by side, often sit holding one another’s feet just the way humans hold hands. And number Three I knew already, my own grandmother having told me this when I was little: that one old English collective noun for rooks is a storytelling of rooks. ( )

tool use and social interaction among corvidae

This is a pleasant book about crows and ravens, full of anecdotes about the strange encounters that people often have with the species. Interspersed throughout fairly current scientific data about corvids - emotions they might feel, how they socialize, solve problems, create tools, and essentially form their own cultures - are myths and stories of how people have interacted with them over time. An interesting aspect of the book is that often the stories and myths hint at how well older cultures understood what science is now proving today - the crow is a crafty bird, and all too much like us.

While humans and crows are exceptionally taxonomically distinct, well over 250 million years separates us from our most recent ancestor - there is much that we have in common with these poorly studied animals. Like Alex, the African Grey Parrot, they harbor intelligence previously only seen in our closest relatives - and even then they are often far more advanced than those primates.

We have a lot to learn about other animals, but at least now we're beginning to recognize the fact that we're more alike than not. ( )

A breezy, informative little book about crows. There is a basic description of the crow family followed by legends and perceptions of crows, an evolutionary history, and some thoughts on the intelligence of crows. Numerous lively personal anecdotes are scattered through the book along with experiments in the lab and in the wild. Some of them are pretty funny, like the ones about the researcher who is perpetually harassed by crows after tagging a number of them or the man who left animal corpses out to observe crow behavior on finding a food source but had to urinate around the corpses to keep coyotes away.

A recurrent question is whether crow behavior is strictly genetic or learned and pondered. Many of the experiments suggest the latter. Crow social behavior, crow problem solving and crow songs are areas of focus. A number of pictures are included – photographs of crows, historical drawings, Rackham illustrations – and condensed crow stories and myths are given. A nice starter book to learn about corvids – I’ll be looking for more. ( )