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