62. Pied Crow No one can plausibly claim not to have seen these large, raucous, sociable, highly intelligent, and ‘in your face’ birds in our cities and suburbs. They are so adapted now to living with, or rather off, humans you don’t see them much elsewhere. If you doubt their intelligence, and encounter them only as the nuisances that overturn bins and rummage through rubbish, you should look at one or two YouTube videos: try “Intelligent crows” and take your pick. There’s one that solves an 8-step puzzle, and some wild crows that learned to crack nuts by dropping them under the wheels of cars at a pedestrian crossing. I also read of wild crows trained to pick up litter and deposit it in bins. But it’s not just crows, though they’re near the top of the class: I’d wager that all birds are more intelligent than we think. All birds communicate among themselves. A number of birds use tools to help extract food from their environment. Some display coloured flowers, stones, nuts to decorate their nests (and attract mates). Many navigate their way across the globe every year, returning each time to the exact spot. Birds of AFRICAMA House 128 Birds of AFRICAMA House 129