Crows can tell men from women

The study involved experiments conducted on four jungle crows, the type most commonly found in Japanese cities and often regarded as an urban nuisance due to their booming population.

After scientists showed the four crows a series of coloured photographs of humans with their hair concealed, one pair was trained to pick men's faces and the other pair women's faces, reports the Telegraph.

As part of their training, each of the crows received pieces of cheese from the scientists when they chose the correct answer.When the faces of other men and women were added and the positions of the faces shuffled, three of the four crows picked the correct faces with 100 percent accuracy, and the fourth chose correctly seven times out of ten.

The study was led by Bezawork Afework, 32, doctoral student from Ethiopia based at the United Graduate School of Agricultural Science at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

Utsunomiya University's professor Shoei Sugita, who has been dubbed the "crow professor" for his bird expertise, told the Mainichi newspaper: "If we utilise this trait, we may be able to think of ways to stop crows coming near us."