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Crows Can Recognize Human Faces and Hold Grudges

Curated by Surfaced EditorialΒ·Regularly updated

A crow perched on a branch, staring intensely at a specific person in a crowd while other crows gather nearby

Researchers at the University of Washington found that crows remember human faces for years and teach other crows to mob people who threatened them. The grudge spreads through generations of crows that never met the original offender.

Why It’s Interesting

It reveals that crows have facial recognition abilities, cultural transmission of knowledge, and a concept of social justice. They are essentially running a generational neighborhood watch program against specific humans.

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