Clever Crow Learns To Meow After Watching Woman Give Food To Cats

Since settling in to her new place in Turkey, animal lover Neslihan Orancı has been leaving food out on the patio for local cats to eat. Nowadays, when the food runs low, the cats let her know — meowing at her door for a refill.

Evidently, this routine didn’t go unnoticed. Unbeknownst to Neslihan and her feline visitors, a certain someone had been watching them from afar. 

And he was taking notes.

One day, Neslihan was at home when that familiar sound caught her ear: meowing from outside. It seemed that one of those hungry cats had arrived to find the food bowl empty, and was now asking her for more.

But, looking through the window, Neslihan quickly discovered that it wasn't a cat. It was actually a hooded crow who'd cleverly learned to meow so he could get free food, too.

"I was very surprised," Naslihan told The Dodo. "I've never heard a crow speak like a cat!"

Here's that little imitator in action:

After the initial shock subsided, Neslihan of course gave the crow some food. And then she noticed he'd picked up other cat vocabulary.

"As he ate, he made the sound of an angry cat, the one cats make when they're fighting," Neslihan said, "so that any cats around would be scared away."

The crow's cat-speak was so convincing, it's possible he'd been pulling this brilliant ruse for a while without Neslihan noticing. She doesn't mind though; to her, he deserves to be rewarded for his cleverness.

"It's very thought-provoking," Neslihan said. "Cats learned to communicate with us over thousands of years of domestication. But the crow learned it quickly, and for the same gain. It seems they could decode our language before we understand theirs!"