Crows, ravens, and other corvids possess remarkable cognitive abilities — and urban populations face specific welfare challenges from human conflicts and environmental hazards.
Corvids represent some of the most cognitively sophisticated birds on Earth, with capabilities that genuinely rival those of great apes in some domains. Their wellbeing in urban environments — where most people encounter them — deserves serious consideration. Urban corvids navigate complex social structures, remember individual humans across years, solve multi-step problems, and engage in what appears to be genuine play. They also face urban-specific hazards: rat poison that accumulates up the food chain, window strikes, vehicle collisions, and sometimes deliberate persecution. Corvids that cause nuisance are often managed lethally when non-lethal alternatives exist. Understanding and appreciating corvid intelligence is foundational to improving how urban wildlife management treats these remarkable animals.