ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Did you know a crow can remember your face? If it decides you're trouble, it can recognize you years later, and it might tell its friends. Even ones that never met you.
Tonight's question comes from Anthony in Okemos, Michigan, who'd heard that crows hold grudges passed down through generations. We find out what a group of scientists in Seattle discovered when they tested it with rubber masks, and why "grudge" turns out not to be quite the right word.
Have a question of your own? We'd love for you to send it to us.
Sleep Tight!,
Sheryl & Clark
❤️👂📖
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About Sleep Tight Science
We’ve got bedtime down to a (Sleep Tight) Science! Sleep Tight Science is an award winning bedtime podcast that makes science accessible and enjoyable for the whole family. Snuggle in and drift off to sleep while learning about science topics submitted by listeners! Designed for curious young minds (but simple enough for grown-ups to understand), Sleep Tight Science uses big words to answer big questions that kids wonder about, like why do we feel icky sometimes and how do our legs help us move? Learn something new about the natural world while drifting off to dreamland. Have an interesting science question or a topic you’re curious about? Email us at hello@sleeptightscience.com, and it might just be the focus of an upcoming episode!
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Notes:
Lasting Recognition of Threatening People by Wild American Crows
Marzluff, Walls, Cornell, Withey & Craig, Animal Behaviour (2010)
The original mask study. Crows continued scolding a mask associated
with trapping for at least 2.7 years.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347209004339
Social Learning Spreads Knowledge About Dangerous Humans Among
American Crows
Cornell, Marzluff & Pecoraro, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2012)
The follow-up study. Traces how scolding spread to crows that were
never trapped, and to young crows that learned from their parents.
Scolding doubled in frequency and spread at least 1.2 km from the
original site over five years.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3234554/
Cooperative Breeding in American Crows
McGowan, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, long-term study, Tompkins
County, NY (1988–1997)
560 nests observed. 80% had helpers. Young crows stayed with their
parents one to six years and helped raise the next brood.
https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/hatchrep.html
American Crow, Overview and Identification
All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Size, appearance, range, and communal winter roosting.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/overview
