History Main / CleverCrows

* Corvids are extremely adept at teamwork to drive away threats such as birds of prey, and in some instances, this may go beyond groups of the same species working together. In [[https://www.reddit.com/r/natureismetal/comments/r9dmxp/after_a_sparrow_hawk_catches_a_jackdaw_and_pins/ this unusual footage]], a Eurasian sparrowhawk has caught a Jackdaw and is pinning it to the ground so it can begin ripping away at its chest to kill it. A group of European magpies and a Carrion crow weren't going to let this slide, and worked together in mobbing and harassing the sparrowhawk until it eventually let go of the Jackdaw and made its own escape.

* In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/ForbiddenBridesOfTheFacelessSlavesInTheSecretHouseOfTheNightOfDreadDesire'', it is a raven that finally resolves the main character's problem by asking the ArmorPiercingQuestion.

* In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire'', it is a raven that finally resolves the main character's problem by asking the ArmorPiercingQuestion.
* In Hiromi Goto's ''Half World'', crows can fly between the mortal world and Half World, and even serve as a literal bridge. They also follow Melanie [[spoiler: (whose parents came from Half World)]] around, which makes her classmates think she is creepy and are one of the reasons she is bullied. Subverted in that they are [[DarkIsNotEvil her allies]], eventually helping her fight the BigBad.

* On the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', Philza's [[FromBeyondTheFourthWall stream chat]] is canonized as a murder of highly intelligent crows that follow him around.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' features [[AnimalThemeNaming Qrow Branwen]], who covers a lot of this trope's angles at once. He's [[TheAlcoholic always drunk]], [[DeadpanSnarker often snarky]] and [[TheGadfly mischievous]], and serves as a CoolUncle to main characters Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, so he can be viewed as a comical figure. But a lot of his drunkenness [[ObfuscatingStupidity is just an act]], he spends much of his time gathering intelligence for Professor Ozpin's BenevolentConspiracy, and he taught Ruby everything she knows about using a SinisterScythe, so he's got some smarts as well. Also, [[spoiler:[[VoluntaryShapeshifting he can turn into a crow.]]]] Qrow's sister Raven Branwen, on the other hand, is much more morally ambiguous and falls under the CreepyCrows trope.
* ''Website/{{Serina}}'': Subverted/Somewhat exaggerated. While not crows per se, bluetailed chatterravens are still as smart as chimpanzees, with one (Brighteye) actually being sapient. The whisperwings, descendants of them that evolved during the “Final Stretch”, are sophonts in their entirety and have entered an alliance with the other sophonts of the planet.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In “Fortgetting Sarrick Mortshall”, Rick briefly replaces Morty with a pair of crows. He’s actually doing it as a bit to show Morty how little he thinks of him, but the crows eventually wind up showing him that they’re more emotionally intelligent than he is.

* Matthew the raven in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989''. Matthew is friendly, not a trickster (though a bit of a wise guy), pleasant and the most loyal guy in the Dreaming. He's as smart as a human and perhaps once ''was'' human. He's strongly implied to be the spirit of Matt Cable, former ally of ComicBook/SwampThing.

* ComicBook/{{Raven}} from ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' (and its [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003 animated spinoff]]). She's a DarkIsNotEvil hero (when not being [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] or [[BrainwashedAndCrazy mind-controlled]] by her EldritchAbomination father) whose magical powers often use a corvid motif.
* The ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' villain named the Scarecrow (a contortionist, circus performer, and escape artist who now works as a thief and burglar) has a flock of over two dozen crows that are highly trained. They always hover protectively around him, will pick up and bring to him small objects (jewels, coins, etc.) when he points at them, and will attack and kill anyone who rushes at him suddenly or points a weapon at him.
* Back in UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}}, Creator/DCComics pubished comics based on the Fox and the Crow (listed below under Western Animation), and like all DC's Golden Age FunnyAnimal characters, they were later established to be inhabitants of ''ComicBook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'''s dimension of Earth-C.

* The prophet Elia is assisted by a swarm of crows sent by God when Elia is wandering in the desert and unable to care for himself due to what today would be described as PTSD.

* ''Website/{{Serina}}'' Subverted/Somewhat exaggerated. While not crows per se, bluetailed chatterravens are still as smart as chimpanzees, with one (Brighteye) actually being sapient. The whisperwings, descendants of them that evolved during the “Final Stretch”, are sophonts in their entirety and have entered an alliance with the other sophonts of the planet.

* ''WebOriginal/{{Serina}}''Subverted/Somewhat exaggerated. While not crows per se, bluetailed chatterravens are still as smart as chimpanzees, with one (Brighteye) actually being sapient. The whisperwings, descendants of them that evolved during the “Final Stretch”, are sophonts in their entirety and have entered an alliance with the other sophonts of the planet.

* ''WebOriginal/Serina'' Subverted/Somewhat exaggerated. While not crows per se, bluetailed chatterravens are still as smart as chimpanzees, with one (Brighteye) actually being sapient. The whisperwings, descendants of them that evolved during the “Final Stretch”, are sophonts in their entirety and have entered an alliance with the other sophonts of the planet.