Watch This Brilliant Crow Turn Two Vultures Against Each Other

Continue reading for our analysis...

Humans aren’t the only instigators in the animal kingdom. The footage made this clear as day when a clever crow wanted access to a water dish occupied by a turkey vulture. Sometimes, a good water source can be challenging to come by. With a large obstacle (buzzard) in its way, the crow had to devise a plan. The crow noticed another turkey vulture off to the side and used that to its advantage. It decides to peck the buzzard guarding the water from behind and uses its speed to escape the scene. However, this move tricked the vulture. With only one other bird remaining on the scene, it attacks the other vulture, assuming it is the culprit. With the two vultures out of the picture, the crow claims the empty water dish. Well played, indeed!

While we can apply complex meaning to an interaction like this, we never truly know what is going through an animal’s mind. However, crows are renowned for their intelligence, so keep reading to learn why.

What Do We Know About Crows?

Crows are a brilliant bird species in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, and many other places. They are often confused with ravens — though ravens are bigger, have differently shaped bills, and have more grating vocalizations. However, crows are known for their loud caws. They are also a symbol of bad omens in folklore.

How Smart Are Crows?

These sleek, black-colored birds are known for their intelligence. In fact, they are one of the smartest creatures in the world. Interestingly, their brains comprise 2% of their body weight. Crows are opportunistic omnivores and will take what they can get. They eat everything from fruit and seeds to insects and carrion. In addition, crows can be mischievous, stealing other animals’ food or — like in the above footage — another animal’s coveted water source.

Crows are innovative problem solvers who turn everyday environmental materials into technological resources. New Caledonian crows, for example, were observed bending branches to create hooks for fishing insects. These birds picked out their preferred species from their stems alone when presented with various plant materials. They considered which tools would better aid them while hunting and manufactured them into hooks. Another study found that this species could develop these tools without training or social interference, which indicates that this is an innate quality of these crows. With these high-level reasoning skills, it’s no wonder the crow in the footage could easily fool those turkey vultures.