# Can Crows really talk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153 "2002-12-12T00:56:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/1 "2002-12-12T00:56:01Z")
Hello all,… can someone please tell me, if a crows tongue has been split, cut, or altered, can he then speak. I have heard this from several people now, but have yet to hear a crow talk. sounds kinda absurd to me…but does anyone know for sure. thanks, got 10 bucks on this one:D ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/2 "2002-12-12T00:58:17Z")
[Mynah birds](http://www.mynahbird.com/) are black with yellow around the head. They mimic human sounds well, and could be confused for a crow by someone who didn’t know birds very well. I hope you bet Crows cannot talk. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/3 "2002-12-12T01:07:40Z")
Jackdaws (_corvus monedula_) can mimic human speech. Not quite a crow, but very nearly. ---
**Author:** ![flabbygirlyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/45deac/32.png) [@flabbygirlyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flabbygirlyman)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/4 "2002-12-12T01:08:03Z")
I’ve heard of this. I don’t know if it’s true. But I would not doubt if crows could actually talk ; they are quite clever ! But it would be cruel to split a crow’s tongue to find out. That would hurt terribly; 10 bucks isn’t enough . Make it 100 , and split the money with the crow. ---
**Author:** ![Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/5 "2002-12-12T01:09:22Z")
hello unclebill, Yeah I told them about Mynah birds looking like crows, but they insisted it was a crow. and yes i bet crows cant talk. thanks for your reply, Liz ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/6 "2002-12-12T01:12:46Z")
Yes! it appears that crows can mimic the human voice (I don’t think they even need their tongues mutilated to do so). [cite](http://www.dto.com/hunting/species/generalprofile.jsp?speciesid=76): > [@](#): > > This bird has been known to mimic the human voice, and if an American crow is kept as a pet, it sometimes learns an assortment of words ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/7 "2002-12-12T01:17:48Z")
Crows (and also Ravens) can be taught to mimic human speech. Splitting the tongue, however, has nothing to do with it. From [this site](http://deal.unl.edu/icwdm/handbook/handbook/allPDF/bird_e33.pdf) (page 2): > [@](#): > > \*\* > Crows can mimic sounds made by other birds and animals and have been taught to mimic the human voice. The myth that splitting the tongue allows a crow to talk better, however, is not true and is needlessly cruel.\*\* Starlings also can be taught to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/8 "2002-12-12T01:19:50Z")
Mangetout… thanks so much for the info…boy, Im glad I didnt bet more than 10 bucks : ) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/9 "2002-12-12T01:20:00Z")
My older brother kept a pet crow, and everyone in my family says it could imitate a few words. Me, I was \<3yo at the time, so I don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/10 "2002-12-12T01:46:26Z")
Incidentally, I have an upcoming Staff Report on talking birds that should appear in the next month or so. SD Staff George ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/11 "2002-12-12T01:48:05Z")
First, no bird should have its tongue split–that does not enhance the ability to mimic human language and might actually kill the bird. Second, I have heard crows make sounds that resembled words (“mama” and “hello”) although I’m not sure if the crows were copying human speech or just making crow noises that sounded like words. Anyway, here’s another link with more crow info: [http://www.crows.net/language.html](http://www.crows.net/language.html) ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/12 "2002-12-12T02:03:24Z")
Quoth the raven: “Eat my shorts”. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/13 "2002-12-12T02:12:04Z")
It is my understanding the [Adelaide Crows](http://afc.com.au/) speak very well. Well, sort of … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/14 "2002-12-12T02:18:36Z")
Wild crows (is there such a thing?) often mimic other animals, esp dogs. A neighborhood crow used to try to mimic my dads table saw. He’d also make chicken sounds for a treat. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Slugworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Slugworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slugworth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/15 "2002-12-12T06:03:53Z")
Either the Brookfield zoo or the Lincoln Park zoo, I forget which, has a talking raven that always amazed me as a kid. Its pronunciation was actually pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/16 "2002-12-12T07:09:16Z")
Similar to what \*\*mangeorge \*\* said, up until about a year ago there was a crow around my house that meowed like a cat. The first couple of times I heard it I actually thought there was a cat up in the tree. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/17 "2002-12-12T07:11:54Z")
Another pers. obs. on American Crow (_Corvus brachyrhynchos_) and another corvid, American Magpie (_Pica hudsonia_) talking. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/18 "2002-12-12T07:46:03Z")
I sure thought that very black bird kept in the St. Louis department store was a crow, as a kid. He could pretty clearly say, “Hello”, if coaxed enough. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/19 "2002-12-12T11:31:24Z")
When my family lived in St. Louis a neighbor kid had a pet crow - just a common, ordinary crow he rescued as a baby after it was thrown or fallen out of a nest. Definitely could speak human words. But - _ **DO NOT split or otherwise alter a bird’s tongue!!!** _ I’d like to kill the [expletive deleted] who started that cruel myth. It is TOTALLY unnecessary, and no doubt horribly painful for the bird. If anything, I’d say it would make the animal LESS likely to speak, not more. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153/20 "2002-12-12T11:41:29Z")
The split tongue thing may be a crossover from the dubious belief that a cat’s ‘meow’ becomes some human word (I forget, it may be ‘mama’) when the tongue is split. What **Broomstick said** - don’t do it (not directed at you, **Elizabeth** , _anyone_). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-crows-really-talk/142153.md?page=2)