# Whats more intelligent an American Crow, a Common Raven, or a Scrub Jay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-intelligent-an-american-crow-a-common-raven-or-a-scrub-jay/357301 "2006-05-18T19:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-intelligent-an-american-crow-a-common-raven-or-a-scrub-jay/357301/21 "2006-05-22T02:37:14Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Just out of curiosity but are owls also considered to be “smart” birds? [/QUOTE] There’s the “wise old owl” saw, but in the extras of one of the Harry Potter movies they remarked that it was very difficult to train Hedwig, since owls are exceedingly stupid; she was the only white owl they could do anything at all with. Funny, cats don’t take direction well, but most of us don’t say they’re stupid for that… ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-intelligent-an-american-crow-a-common-raven-or-a-scrub-jay/357301/22 "2006-05-22T08:57:56Z")
Crows and scrub jays are regular visitors to my balcony every day (they LOVE peanuts, which I put out for them every day). Crows and jays are very closely related. Anyway I have done a lot of reading on both birds, and recall seeing repeatedly that crows are more intelligent than jays. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-intelligent-an-american-crow-a-common-raven-or-a-scrub-jay/357301/23 "2006-05-22T15:54:12Z")
I used to volunteer at a wild bird rehab center. There was a cage for the crippled crows near the entrance. Those little buggers were smart and funny and they all had their own personalities … er, birdonalities. They used tools, they played and they talked. They may have a bad reputation but they are actually pretty cool birds. Except when they poop on you. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-intelligent-an-american-crow-a-common-raven-or-a-scrub-jay/357301/24 "2006-05-23T22:00:14Z")
[QUOTE=rjk] The bait-on-a-string study was cited in a National Geographic article in January of (I think) 2000, or maybe 2001. January I’m sure of. I’ve mentioned it before. The author also mentioned seeing a nice group trick. He found a golden eagle eating a deer carcass, when a flock of ravens showed up. The eagle threatened vigorously when the ravens got too close, so they backed off and hung around at one side of the clearing. The eagle kept an eye on them as he ate, and didn’t notice as one raven flew off and circled around behind him. That raven sneaked up, pulled the eagle’s tail, and dived for the woods where he could move faster than the eagle. As soon as the deer was unoccupied, the other ravens rushed in and chowed down until the eagle came back. IIRC, they did the same several times in a row. Now that’s smart! [/QUOTE] I have also heard (don’t recall where) that crows have been documented to place walnuts in the middle of the road, where they will be cracked open by passing cars. (My dad had a pet crow when he was a kid, said it followed him around like a dog. It’s not legal to take them out of the wild anymore–and may not have been then, knowing him–but it IS legal to take starlings, which are related. They are considered nuisance birds, and you can do as you like with them. I wouldn’t mind raising one of them. They are incredible mimics, and could be fun (and legal) as a pet.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-intelligent-an-american-crow-a-common-raven-or-a-scrub-jay/357301.md?page=1)