How I Discovered a Bird Has Been Watching Me for Years

There's a bird that knows your face — not your species, not your shape, your specific face. And if you've ever been unkind to one, it hasn't forgotten. Neither have its children. This is the true story of how crows learned to recognize, remember, and pass down the identity of dangerous humans — for generations. 🐦 Sources: Cornell, H.N., Marzluff, J.M., & Pecoraro, S. (2011). Social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American crows. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 279(1728), 499–508. Marzluff, J.M., et al. (2012). Brain imaging reveals neuronal circuitry underlying the crow's perception of human faces. PNAS. Marzluff, J.M., Walls, J., Cornell, H.N., Withey, J., & Craig, D.P. (2010). Lasting recognition of threatening people by wild American crows. Animal Behaviour, 79, 699–707. University of Washington News — "Crows react to threats in human-like way" (2012) Scientific American — "Crows Show Off Their Social Skills" #crows #animalbehavior #sciencefacts