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How does a crow make tools—and remember your face for years?

Once upon a time, in London, an experiment was done. A pipe with a nut inside was placed in front of a crow - it was impossible to get it out with a paw. A piece of wire lay nearby. The crow looked, thought, took the wire in its beak, bent it with a hook - and pulled out the nut! All by itself, without any prompting. This bird named Betty became famous all over the world.

Crows are the smartest birds on the planet. Their brains work like a 7-year-old child. They don't just memorize - they think ahead, plan, cheat, and even joke.

If a crow finds a tasty treat, it hides it in the ground like a treasure. And it remembers where it was buried, even six months later! Imagine that you buried a piece of candy in a sandbox. A year later, you came back and found it without a mistake. Is it difficult? And a crow does this with thousands of hiding places.

Did you know that they remember faces? Scientists put on masks, caught crows, tagged them, and released them. After 5 years, the same crows recognized the mask and screamed anxiously, warning others: "It's him! Watch out!" If you offend a crow, it will remember you for the rest of its life. And if you make friends, it will bring you gifts: shiny stones, buttons, coins.

Crows play games. They slide down snow slides on their backs, like sleds. They tease dogs - they fly up, peck at their tails and run away. They laugh!

When you see a crow on a branch, know that it is also looking at you. And, perhaps, it is already deciding whether to befriend you.