Free Republic

Crows in Sweden are being trained to pick up cigarette butts that are littering the streets. In Södertälje near Stockholm, the birds are being recruited to help with this persistent waste problem. A device designed by startup Corvid Cleaning rewards crows with a small amount of food for every butt they bin. It provides positive reinforcement that encourages these intelligent birds to repeat the behaviour. Crows can do jobs, share knowledge and even mourn their dead. Some studies suggest that they could be the smartest animals on the planet besides primates with a level of reasoning equal to a seven-year-old....

Crows are even more surprisingly smart than we thought. But do they have true consciousness? Research shows that crows and other corvids “know what they know and can ponder the content of their own minds,” according to STAT. This is considered a cornerstone of self-awareness and shared by just a handful of animal species besides humans. In new research published in Science, German scientists put crows through a series of puzzling tasks. During those tasks, the scientists measured neural activity in different kinds of neurons with the goal of tracking how crows were sensing and reasoning through their work. They...

An old farmer had a garden and the crows kept coming and eating his produce. He wearied of trying to chase them off and put up fake owls and such to get them to leave. So, he went into a shed nearby with his shotgun and waited. The crows were not to be fooled. They waited until he walked away and swooped down on his garden. Not to be outdone, the old man got a friend to go with him to the shed with HIS shotgun and then he left and left the friend there to shoot the crows. They...

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Native American man who was convicted of hunting off-season in Bighorn National Forest. Neil Gorsuch joined the four liberal justices in Herrera v. Wyoming, holding that an 1868 treaty between the U.S. and the Native American Crow Tribe granted the tribe the right to hunt in "unoccupied lands," and that the treaty did not expire when Wyoming became a state in 1890. Crow Tribe member Clayvin Herrera was charged with off-season hunting in 2014, but he argued that the 151-year-old treaty protected his ability to hunt at that time....

MELAKA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Crows have become a menace here, driving residents to despair while leaving one local councillor trying to figure out why the birds are targeting women's undies. Melaka Historic City (MBMB) councillor Tan Chin Gwan said he was perplexed by why crows were snatching undergarments placed on clotheslines, especially at the city's commercial hub of Kota Laksamana. "These thieving birds are a menace as they have swooped down and snatched dozens of panties since June last year." "I have received more than a hundred reports of crows terrorising condominiums and high-rise residential areas in Kota...

Lots of people love the birds in their garden, but it's rare for that affection to be reciprocated. One young girl in Seattle is luckier than most. She feeds the crows in her garden - and they bring her gifts in return.

Two white doves that were released by children standing alongside Pope Francis as a peace gesture have been attacked by other birds.

Before taking the extreme step, he told his mother who, after consulting an astrologer, said that praying at a temple would help. But the youth was not convinced. Anand V H was all of 23, and an engineering graduate to boot. But he was superstitious too — so superstitious that he ended his life on Thursday, all because a crow perched itself on his head -- twice -- the previous day. Anand committed suicide allegedly by consuming poison at his rented accommodation on 3rd Cross, 5th Main, Manjunath Nagar in Rajajinagar. The incident came to light Thursday morning after his...

Crow uses three step process to get food.

EDMONDS -- Traffic in Edmonds was detoured for more than an hour Tuesday while a hazardous materials team investigated a report of a suspicious powder discovered at the intersection of Sunset Avenue and Edmonds Street. "It turns out the white powdery substance is, in fact, flour," Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said. A witness told firefighters that a couple of crows were to blame.

THE GIST * Crows remember the faces of "dangerous humans," with the memories likely lasting for a bird's lifetime. * Crows may scold people who threaten them, bringing in relatives and even strangers to mob the person. * The crows within mobs then indirectly learn about the person, so they too associate that individual's face with danger and react accordingly. Crows remember the faces of threatening humans and often react by scolding and bringing in others to mob the perceived miscreant, according to a new study published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Since the mob members...

Most military vehicles can mount some sort of weapon, and even small protected vehicles like up-armored Hummers have top mounts. Manning them can be hazardous, however, as the story behind the Chavis Turret illustrates. Gunners are especially exposed to enemy sniper fire and counter-fire in urban environments, which figure prominently in current and expected war scenarios. In response, larger armored vehicles have begun using Remote Weapon Systems (RWS), consisting of a gun and sensors that sit on top of the vehicle. These systems are controlled from inside via joystick and screen, and all ammunition, sensors, etc. are part of the...

Ask anyone who's lived in Terre Haute for a long time and they'll tell you crows are a big problem this time of year. But getting rid of them isn't as easy as you would think. An estimated 60- to 80-thousand crows call Terre Haute home every winter. And despite many efforts to rid the city of them, the crows return annually. Just one look at the outside of Brownstone Manor at 12th and Ohio Streets in Terre Haute and you know this place has quite the crow problem. "Our biggest concern is the amount of droppings around our area...

The origin of the story has been variously attributed on the internet to military sources, and whether it is true or not (and we have no reason to doubt our source), it is a great story. This came from a gent who runs a 2000 acre corn farm up around Barron,WI-- not far from Oshkosh. He used to fly F-4Es and F-16s for the Guard and participated in the first Gulf War. Submitted for your enjoyment, and as a reminder that there are other great, magnificent flyers around besides you.

Two dead crows found in Sunnyvale and San Jose have tested positive for West Nile virus, the first infected birds in Santa Clara County this year. The birds, discovered last week, were in the West San Jose area near Bongate Court and Latimer Avenue and in Sunnyvale near Orleans Drive, north of Highway 237. So far, no human West Nile virus cases have been found in Santa Clara County and the Vector Control District is collecting adult mosquitoes weekly for testing. In addition, the district is following patterns of where the dead birds are found in an effort to identify...

December 11, 2008: The remote control turret changed the battlefield more than you might think. It all began three years ago, when the U.S. Army realized that new remote control gun turret designs actually worked, and suddenly they could not get enough of them. The army ordered over 9,000 CROWS (common remotely operated weapon stations), but for a while could only get 15 a month. By the end of 2006, there were about a thousand CROWS in service by the end of the year. The main issue was that the enemy was no longer able to knock out the turret...

The remote control turret changed the battlefield more than you might think.  It all began three years ago, when the U.S. Army realized that new remote control gun turret designs actually worked, and suddenly they could not get enough of them. The army ordered over 9,000 CROWS (common remotely operated weapon stations), but for a while could only get 15 a month. By the end of 2006, there were about a thousand CROWS in service by the end of the year. The main issue was that the enemy was no longer able to knock out the turret gunner, early in...

ATK Lightweight 25mm (LW25) Brings Chain Gun(R) Lethality, Flexibility and Reliability to Remote Weapon Station Applications In its First Public Appearance, Cannon is Integrated into CROWS Mounted on Up-Armored HMMWV MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK - News) is unveiling its newest Chain Gun®, the Lightweight 25mm (LW25), at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington D.C. today. The system has been integrated into the Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS) and mounted on an up-armored HMMWV for the event. "ATK's Lightweight 25 cannon offers enhanced lethality, flexibility and reliability for numerous combat platforms such as...

This is one of those elephant in the living room kinds of problems which people ought to be talking about but don't seem to be. I mean, of all the animals I never would have figured I'd ever feel sorry for or which would ever be scarce or quality as an endangered species or anything like that..... I mean, you can't find crows in Virginia or Maryland any more, they're gone. We used to have enormous flocks of crows in Alexandria; all gone. We've got one lonely crow living at Southern Towers now, the sole survivor. Likewise I was out...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A purported audio recording by the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing gloated over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a top U.S. general said the military was preparing to recommend strategy changes. Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, said in the recording posted on the Internet on Friday that the group has 12,000 armed fighters and 10,000 others waiting to be equipped to fight U.S. troops in Iraq. "I tell the lame duck (U.S. administration) do not rush to escape as did your defense minister ... stay on the battleground," he...