Question · Biology
Are Ravens Smarter Than Crows?
[science] Ravens and crows are both exceptional — they perform at similar high levels across most cognitive tasks tested in controlled experiments. Ravens showed slightly stronger performance in a 2017 planning study (Kabadayi & Osvath); New Caledonian Crows excel at tool use. For the species most likely to be compared — Common Raven vs American Crow or Carrion Crow — the cognitive difference is small and task-dependent. Neither is simply "smarter".
What They Have in Common
[science] All corvids in the raven/crow group share:
- Large brain-to-body ratio — among the highest of any birds.
- Vocal learning — calls are learned, not fully innate.
- Social complexity — long-term relationships, dominance hierarchies, cooperation.
- Food caching with spatial memory and cache protection.
- Apparent understanding of causal relationships in physical tasks.1
Where Ravens Edge Ahead
[science] Kabadayi and Osvath's 2017 planning study used the same protocol on ravens and great apes. When the same test has been run with crows (American or Carrion), ravens have shown slightly more flexible performance — though the studies are not always directly comparable in design.2
Ravens also show more complex social cognition around cache protection — particularly the ability to infer what a potential thief can see based on the thief's position relative to opaque barriers.
Where Crows Edge Ahead
[science] New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) are the tool-use champions of the corvid family. They manufacture and modify tools — including hooks from plant stems — in the wild, something Common Ravens do not do habitually. In sequential tool-use tasks requiring multiple steps, New Caledonian Crows outperform ravens.3
American and Carrion Crows also perform very well on many cognitive tasks; the available data does not clearly rank them below Common Ravens overall.
Why Ranking Species Intelligence Is Problematic
Intelligence is not a single dimension. Different selective pressures produce different cognitive specialisations. Ravens evolved in social environments requiring advanced social cognition; New Caledonian Crows evolved in environments where tool use was rewarding. Comparing them is like asking whether a mathematician is smarter than a musician.
Related Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is smarter — a raven or a crow?
Both Common Ravens and American/Carrion Crows perform at similar high levels on most cognitive tasks. Ravens have shown slightly more flexible planning in Kabadayi & Osvath (2017); crows (particularly New Caledonian Crows) show more sophisticated habitual tool use. For Common Crows vs Common Ravens, the difference is small and task-dependent.
Are New Caledonian Crows smarter than ravens?
New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) excel at tool manufacture and use — they make and modify tools in the wild, which Common Ravens do not. On planning and social cognition tasks, ravens and New Caledonian Crows perform comparably. They are differently specialised, not simply ranked.
Sources
- Heinrich, B. (2000). Mind of the Raven. HarperCollins. — corvid cognition overview.
- Kabadayi, C. & Osvath, M. (2017). Ravens parallel great apes in flexible planning. Science 357, 202–204. — planning comparison.
- Taylor, A.H. et al. (2010). New Caledonian crows reason about hidden causal agents. PNAS 107(37), 16381–86. — tool use and causal reasoning in NCC.
[science] peer-reviewed study or field-guide data