Jungle Crows: Some of Hokkaido’s Smartest and Most Surprising Birds

When our workshop leaders are on the annual Hokkaido Photo Tour, they keep an eye out for one of Japan’s cleverest birds—the Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos).  If you think crows are just noisy city birds, they will definitely surprise you.  These bold, clever birds are more than just background noise. With glossy blue-black feathers, a massive beak, and a wingspan of over a meter, Jungle Crows are hard to miss. They're also incredibly smart—so smart, in fact, that they’ll drop nuts on roads and wait for cars to crack them open.

In Hokkaido, you’ll often spot Jungle Crows hanging around the coast or mountains, especially near other wildlife like Steller’s Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) and White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), waiting for the perfect moment to steal a snack. They’ve even been seen catching stranded fish in river shallows or mimicking woodpeckers to lure birds closer. That’s next-level clever.  What’s even more fascinating is their connection to local culture. The Ainu people of Japan see the crow as a spiritual guide. According to legend, a crow once saved the world by stealing the sun back from the mouth of an evil spirit. Maybe that’s why these birds seem so fearless—and why some even act like they own the place.

Crows form tight-knit families too. Mated pairs raise their young together, and older siblings help out until they’re ready to fly off and start their own families. In cities like Tokyo, their intelligence sometimes gets them into trouble, especially when they break into trash bags looking for food. That’s why some neighborhoods now use special nets or sometimes even steel cages to keep the birds out.  But in the countryside, it’s easy to appreciate them as part of the ecosystem. At our Hokkaido office, they visit almost daily—though he does keep an eye out when they start hunting in his 100-year-old cherry blossom tree!

Whether you admire their brains, their beauty, or their bravery, Jungle Crows are among Japan’s most misunderstood and impressive birds. Once you really see them, you’ll never look at a crow the same way again.