What You’ve Heard About Crows Is Bizarrely True and a Bit Frightening

Do we dare talk about Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 horror classic, The Birds? Except right now, I'm talking about real life and the creepy fact that we should never cross a crow because they never, ever forget a face and even pass it on their flock.

And yes, that flock passes it on as well. It's not just some urban legend to freak people out, rather comes from stressful situations that affect crows to the point of not only remembering human faces but also sharing the info with their feathered friends.

It all started with a study according to The Conversation since crows are known for their smarts. Yes, I know it sounds odd and very horror film like.

According to The Royal Society Publishing, this turned into a five-year study which included researchers wearing caveman masks before trapping, banding, and then releasing these American wild crows.

Do you want to guess what happened next?

Yup, those crows saw someone wearing the mask a few days later and swooped down with some seriously angry squawking and flapping and attacked the mask-wearing researcher.

Five years later a researcher wearing that same mask appeared and crows still reacted aggressively according to Science ABC.  This means the word had spread about this evil, dangerous face.

We've always known that animals have ways of communicating and passing information along to each other from their newborn hatchlings to full-grown birds. Crows, too, are extremely social and essentially just want to protect themselves and others from what they perceive as threats.

Ravens are another bird that very likely will hold a grudge similar to American crows According to Science ABC. Even your dog who likes to chase birds could be subject to dive-bombing if your pup likes to chase and bark at them.

Hey, they're just protecting themselves like all animals. If you mess with one bird of the flock, you mess with every member of the flock.