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Besides being dark and mysterious, crows are extremely intelligent birds. So smart, in fact, that it might be even a little bit scary. Even though their brains are the size of a human thumb, their intelligence, comparable to that of a 7-year-old child, allows them to use tools, solve problems, recognize people’s faces, adapt to new situations, and even plan for the future.

More examples of crows doing scarily smart things can be found in the list below, curated by our Bored Panda team. Scroll down to find them and make sure to upvote those instances that make you suspicious of how clever these birds are.

#1 I Only Wish More People Were Like This Crow

Image credits: sencerb88

#2 French Amusement Park “Puy Du Fou” Has Trained A Team Of Crows To Pick Up Garbage And Cigarette-Butts

For every piece of trash thrown into a bin, they’ll automatically receive a reward.

Image credits: troila

#3 I Knew Crows Were Smart But This One Is Actually Dipping His Chicken Nuggets

Image credits: despicable_bri

#4 He Knew He Beat You Too, That’s Wild

Image credits: voron_gosha_tv

#5 Crow Rides On The Back Of An Eagle

Image credits: Phoo Chan

#6 Been Feeding Crows For A Couple Of Months And Got My First Gift Today

Image credits: cutelyaware

#7 I Started Feeding Bar Nuts To These Crows That Are Regural To The Patio Of A Bar I Work At. My Collection Of Gifts Finally Started After 3 Months

Image credits: saroj7878

#8 Crow Dropping A Nut Into The Intersection So Traffic Will Run Over It And Crack It Open For Him

Image credits: Tony_Hamilton87

#9 Crow Snowboarding And It’s Using Plastic As A Sled. Crows Have Been Observed Engaging In Playful Behaviors, Like Sliding Down Snowy Rooftops Or Performing Aerial Acrobatics Just For Fun

Image credits: WTVideo

#10 Crows Are So Smart! The Bird Was Thirsty And What Matters Is “Water”. There Is Solution To Most Things If You Think Out Of The Box

#11 Like Parrots, Some Crows In Captivity Can Mimic Human Words And Phrases, Often With Surprising Accuracy

Image credits: Mauricio Ortiz/pexels (not an actual photo)

#12 Crows’ Cognitive And Problem-Solving Skills Are Truly Remarkable

Image credits: pattyboosh

#13 So Cute

Image credits: michellesound

#14 I Found This In The Spot Where I Feed My Crows Every Morning. It’s Soaking Wet Because It Was Raining. But If They Did Drop It For Me, That’s Absolutely Awesome

Image credits: jlscott0731

#15 Crows Are Incredibly Intelligent Birds Capable Of Recognizing Human Faces And Holding Grudges

If a crow feels threatened or harmed by a person, it can remember the individual for years. Additionally, crows have been known to warn other crows about dangerous humans, effectively creating a network of information shared among the birds. Their memory and social communication are part of why crows are considered some of the smartest animals on Earth

Image credits: earthpen4518

#16 Crows Have Been Spotted Using Sticks To Extract Food From Hard-To-Reach Places, Even Bending The Sticks To Make Then More Effective

Image credits: Dalmiro Cuellar Oficial

#17 Theft And Deception: They Cleverly Hide Their Food Caches And Even Fake Hiding Spots To Throw Off Potential Thieves, Including Other Crows

Image credits: Matt R/pexels (not an actual photo)

#18 Gabby, Our American Crow, Has Mastered Connect Four As Part Of Her Enrichment And Frequently Squares Off Against Her Trainer And Caretaker Sean

Gabby’s record is 15-1. She has to let Sean win every once in awhile to keep his confidence high.

Image credits: Texas State Aquarium

#19 My Friend Mr. Crow. I Feed Him By Hand. Sometimes He Pecks Me Gently And Tells Me To Give Food

Image credits: mayankify

#20 Crow Helps Hedgehog To Cross The Street

Image credits: dump_acc_91

#21 Crows Are Hilarious. They Seem To Enjoy Having Fun Keeping Themselves Amused. Here’s One That Used To “Hang Around” Outside Our House

Just swaying in the breeze. He used to do this quite regularly.

Image credits: Nikki Williams

#22 Smart Crow Has Impressive Problem-Solving Skills

Image credits: MetDaan Adventure

#23 Understanding Social Hierarchies: Crows Know How To Navigate Their Complex Social Structures, Recognize Dominance Hierarchies, And Adjust Their Behavior Accordingly

Image credits: pxhere.com (not an actual photo)

#24 Crows Copying The Way Humans Caw

Image credits: CryptoNature

#25 That Is Frank. He Is A Solitary Bird, But Also The First To Figure Out That He Gets Quite Bigger Nuts In A Personal Exchange

He jumps up and down until I come out and give him one of the really big peanuts. I bet he is quite smug about how well he trained me too.

Image credits: reddit.com

#26 Thirsty Crow

Image credits: UmarGanie1

#27 New Caledonian Crows Use Tools To Forage For Food In The Wild. Captive New Caledonian Crows Have Even Made Hooked Tools From Wire To Obtain Food Despite Never Having Seen Wire Before

Image credits: AGreatWind

#28 A Friend Nursed An Injured Crow Back To Health After It Got Trapped In Her French Quarter Courtyard. These As Some Of The Things The Crow Has Been Bringing Her As Apparent Gifts

Image credits: Tweetystraw

#29 My Dads Been Feeding This Crow And Now He Sits In His Van With Him

Image credits: Tighe_er

#30 I Was In Vietnam Photographing Wildlife And Found An Eagle Pursuing A Crow For A Good While. After Watching Them For A Bit, They Landed And It Turned Out They Were Friends

Image credits: neuralzen

#31 They Really Are Quite Intelligent

Image credits: stan_sdcollins

#32 This Person Managed To “Adopt” A Crow

Image credits: tumblr.com

#33 Crows Like To Pull Tails. Some Think It Is To Distract Another Animal From Eating Allowing Either The Crow Itself Or An Accomplice To Snatch The Food Away, While Others Think They Do It For Fun

#34 We’ve Been Feeding A Small Family Of Four Crows (Mated Pair And Their Two Year Old Kids) For Several Years

Last week two days in a row they left these gifts, pull tabs threaded onto pine twigs. This isn’t only generous, it’s creative, it’s art. My mind is blown.

Image credits: StuartDahlquist

#35 When A Crow Dies, Others Gather Around Its Body, Seemingly To Investigate And Learn From The Situation, Possibly To Identify Potential Threats

Image credits: Alexander Savchuk/pexels (not an actual photo)

#36 Was Sitting On My Couch When Suddenly A Crow Came And Left A Marble On My Roof

i was just sitting here when suddenly i heard some noise above me and looked up to see a crow on the skylight, it dropped a marble down, watched it start to roll away then went and picked it up and put it down somewhere where it wouldn’t roll away, then simply left, there’s a family of crows living in a tree right beside my house and they often stare at me when i’m skating in my driveway by there tree, but i’ve never fed them or anything, nor have i bothered them though. the marble has been there since yesterday now, was it meant as a gift?

Image credits: Impossible-Meal9912

#37 Crows Are Really Smart After All. This Crow Locks The Box Before Going Out

Image credits: ThoryRajkumar

#38 Crows Are The Best Birbs

Image credits: tumblr.com

#39 Hooded Crow Having Fun Sledding Down A Snow-Covered Windshield

Crows are known for their high level of intelligence in mimicking human behaviors. They’ve often been observed engaging in acts of “play” with remarkably human qualities.

Image credits: to_the_tenth_power

#40 Australian Crows Get Around The Dangers Of Eating Poisonous, Invasive, Cane Toads By Flipping Them Over And Eating Only Their Thighs, Tongues And Intestines

Image credits: FillsYourNiche

#41 My Crows Have Gifted Me Texas

Image credits: Fishy_Mistakes

#42 I Received My First Gifts

I’m a little late posting it but I received my first gifts November 26th and I’ve got to say, I didn’t expect the feelings that accompanied those gifts, as someone who struggles daily with my mental and physical health, I am truly grateful for the love that they’ve shown me and for the joy that they bring.

Also, I bought a little pack of tiny crows to gift to them, I thought it would be fun to see if they accept them.

Image credits: No_Fig1560

#43 My Crows Left Me A Gift Today

Image credits: EldritchSpider

#44 Crow Engaging In A Phenomenon Called “Anting”. They Purposefully Rub Ants Who, Sensing Danger, Discharge Formic Acid, Which Is Absorbed Into The Bird’s Body And Acts As A Natural Insecticide

Image credits: ExpertAccident

#45 Clever Little Swoopy Sr Has Learned How To Maximize Her Almond Haul: By Following Me 4x, Making Me Think She Didn’t See The Food I Left Her (So I Leave More)

When I go back, ALL the almonds are gone.
1st location, almonds were strewn in the grass. 2nd on the stairs. 3rd near the sign post. 4th under the trees. AND THEN she digged in. Puts in the work for her and her husband Daisy (that’s right Daisy’s the male) who is content with the first pile he sees. Unlike little Swoopy. She’s my sweetie.
To note: I don’t feed them everyday, but I do feed them frequently 3-4x a week, once a day.

Image credits: Affectionate_Sky2264

#46 I Was Weeding Today And Discovered That My Crowbros Started Planting Their Own Peanuts

Image credits: Drunarawr

#47 Counting And Understanding Numbers: Crows Have Demonstrated The Ability To Distinguish Between Different Quantities, Showing Numerical Cognition On Par With Some Primates