Okay, but why are we obsessed with crows and ravens?

E46. Crows and ravens fill our oldest stories, and plenty of us want one as a friend. Dr. Claudia Wascher, professor of behavioral biology at Anglia Ruskin University, explains what makes corvids seem so clever, when clever turns out to be something simpler, and why befriending them is a bad idea. In this episode, you'll hear about: The crow named Hugo, and what his flock started saying once he was gone Why a walnut dropped at a red light may be less clever than it looks What a goose's heartbeat reveals about how birds feel All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: American Crow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML229089 Common Raven audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML132161 Steller's Jay audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML539738 Hawaiian Crow video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML425081 Rook audio contributed by James (Jim) Holmes, ML635593051 Eurasian Jay audio contributed by James (Jim) Holmes, ML32278971 Carrion Crow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML231022 Australian Magpie audio contributed by Emma Greig, ML218159 House Crow video contributed by Raphaël Nussbaumer, ML241917321 Red-tailed Hawk audio contributed by David McCartt, ML229578 Graylag Goose audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML233387