Mary Allen
Corvids are a family of animals. There are about 120 species of corvids. Ravens, rooks, and jackdaws live in Europe. They’re all black. The carrion crow and magpie are black and white to grey. The jay has brown plumage and side feathers striped blue and black. You can recognize him very well by that. The Blue Magpie has blue wing tips and tail feathers. However, it lives only in Spain, Portugal, and certain areas of East Asia.
All types of corvids are songbirds, even if they caw and don’t sing, such as blackbirds or thrushes. Most carrion crows are omnivores. They especially like to eat nuts, and grain seeds, but also small beetles and insects as well as carcasses from dead animals. Because they also eat eggs from other bird species, they have an extremely bad reputation. The carrion crows are therefore shot down by hunters. Hunters also used to catch them in traps.
Scientists say corvids are the smartest birds. They can hide their food and remember all hiding places. They choose the hiding places so that they are sure that no one will find them. To do this, they have to be able to put themselves in the shoes of others, which other birds hardly manage to do. They are also one of the few animals that plan exactly what they are going to do beforehand. You can even recognize yourself in a mirror.
Many corvids follow cultures: they settle where people live. Corvids often look for things to eat in people’s litter. They also take advantage of red lights by picking up run-over nuts or acorns between parked cars.