National Geographic

BIRD BRAINIACS 129``````9LUJLQLD0RUHOO is the author of the New York Times bestseller Animal Wise: How We Know Animals Think andFeel. Regular contributor &KDUOLH+DPLOWRQ-DPHVis theNational Geographic innovation in photography fellow.So why do crows in Seattle bother to presentgifts to a human girl?“I don’t know why they do it,” Bugnyar says.“Gift giving is in their natural repertoire. So it’slikely they give her gifts because they’ve learnedthat she is giving them food.”“It’s a two-way communication,” agrees JohnMarzluff. “Gabi consistently provides food, andthe crows regard the food as a gift. In exchangethey bring her presents.” It’s rare for wild birds—other than crows and ravens—to offer objectsto people. “When they bring gifts, people payattention,” Marzluff says, “and the birds noticeour response,” just as Babyface observed Gabi’sreaction when he dropped the toy squid. “It’s areciprocal exchange; some might say it’s a wayof thanking Gabi.” And the crows know Gabi,Marzluff says. He and his students carried out aseries of experiments on his university campusthat showed crows never forget a face. They rec-ognize people who harassed them years before atnesting sites and even pass this information onto their chicks and other crows.Gabi and her family recently moved to Itha-ca, New York. She’s traveled back and forth afew times, much like a raven on the wing, as herparents complete the transition. Each time theyreturn to Seattle, Gabi sets out food for the crows,although at a neighbor’s home. She sees Babyfaceand his friends and says the birds know when sheand her family are back: “They recognize our car.”When she leaves, she bids him and the othersfarewell. She thinks he worries about her, just asshe worries about him. And she wishes for Baby-face what she thinks he wishes for her: a good lifewith lots of friends, and stashes of bright objectsand nuts in her new territory. j