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S29 Ep2

A Murder of Crows

Premiere: 10/23/2010 | 00:00:30 | NR

Crows do not have the best of reputations, but new research has shown they are among the most intelligent animals in the world, able to use tools and recognize each other's voices and 250 distinct calls. "A Murder of Crows" premieres Sunday, October 24, 2010 (check local listings).

About the Episode

Crows live everywhere in the world except Antarctica and are a part of myths and legends in many cultures. Their reputation in the stories varies from comical to frightening, godlike or wise, bringers of light and bringers of death, though a “murder” of crows refers to a flock of crows, and not to anything murderous, at all. They may be all these things, but what we are learning is that they are especially smart.

New research has shown that they are among the most intelligent animals on the planet. They use tools as only elephants and chimpanzees do, and recognize 250 distinct calls. One particular talent they have been discovered to possess is the ability to recognize individual human faces and pick them out of a crowd up to two years later – a trick that might make even Hitchcock shiver with fright.

They thrive wherever people live and have used their great intelligence to adapt again and again to a constantly changing world. Some memorize garbage truck routes, and follow the feast from day to day. Others drop nuts in the road and wait for passing cars to crack them open. And some build their nests from items we throw away – like wire clothes hangers.

These are social birds that mate for life and raise their young for up to five years. And they learn from each other’s misfortunes. When one is killed in a farmer’s field, it’s not uncommon for them to change entire migratory patterns so that no crows fly over that field for as long as two years.

These birds might have a scary reputation, but what may prove to be the scariest thing about them is how much they know about us, and how little we know about them!

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PRODUCTION CREDITS

DIRECTOR
SUSAN FLEMING

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
NICK DE PENCIER

CAMERA
KEITH BRUST
RUSSELL GIENAPP
ONNO WEEDA

EDITOR
DAVID NEW

WRITER
TED REMEROWSKI

ORIGINAL MUSIC
TTG MUSIC
GEOFF BENNETT
ANDRE HIRTZ
BEN JOHANNESEN

WITH SPECIAL GUEST
CELLIST, GEORGE MEANWELL

NARRATOR
NORA YOUNG

PRODUCTION MANAGER
ANDREA MINTY

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
GEORGIA KOVALIK

SOUND RECORDISTS
NICK DE PENCIER
PETER SAWADE
SCOT CHARLES

JAPAN FIXER
ANNE PICK

ART DIRECTOR
SUSAN FLEMING

TITLE DESIGN
PETER KOVALIK

RESEARCH
SYLVIA MAGRYS

CROW WRANGLERS
JAMES COWAN
ANNA KLICH
ULRICH WATERMANN

SPECIAL THANKS FOR ALL THEIR HELP AND SUPPORT TO
JOHN MARZLUFF & HEATHER CORNELL, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
JOSEPH MURNAGHAN, OPTIX DIGITAL PICTURES

ONLINE EDITOR
DAVID HEDLEY, OPTIX DIGITAL PICTURES

VISUAL EFFECTS
MARK DRIVER
DAVID HEDLEY

STORY EDITOR
ANNE PICK

SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR
DAVID ROSE

DIALOGUE EDITOR
JEAN BOT

FOLEY ARTISTS
ANDY MALCOLM
GORO KOYAMA

FOLEY RECORDING MIXER
DON WHITE

RE-RECORDING MIXER
LOU SOLAKOFSKI, TATTERSALL SOUND AND PICTURE

PUBLICITY
JILL SPITZ

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SCIENTISTS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROJECT:
DAVID CRAIG, WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
KEVIN MCGOWAN, CORNELL LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY
LOUIS LEFEBVRE, MCGILL UNIVERSITY
RUSSELL GRAY, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
ALEX TAYLOR, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
GAVIN HUNT, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
ANNE BARRETT CLARK, BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
MICHIO MATSUDA, THE WILD BIRD SOCIETY OF JAPAN
HIROYOSHI HIGUCHI, UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
YOSHIHIDE SHIBATA, TOKYO
THOMAS BUGNYAR, UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA
CLAUDIA WASCHER, KONRAD LORENZ INSTITUTE
ANNA BRAUN, KONRAD LORENZ INSTITUTE
ERICH JARVIS, DUKE UNIVERSITY
TOBY BRADSHAW, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
and
THE KYUSHU ELECTRIC COMPANY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR CBC
MICHAEL ALLDER

SENIOR PRODUCER FOR CBC
CAROLINE UNDERWOOD

MTV’s “Crows” used with permission by MTV
© 2009 MTV Networks. All Rights Reserved, MTV all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.

PRODUCER
SUSAN FLEMING

Produced in association with
THE CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

In association with
ARTE FRANCE
UNITÉ DE PROGRAMME DÉCOUVERTE ET CONNAISSANCE
HÉLÈNE COLDEFY

Produced with the Participation of
THE CANADA MEDIA FUND, CREATED BY CANADA’S CABLE AND SATELLITE DISTRIBUTORS AND THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Produced with the Participation of
ROGERS DOCUMENTARY FUND
and
ROGERS TELEFUND

Produced with the Assistance of
THE CANADIAN FILM OR VIDEO PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT
and
THE ONTARIO MEDIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FILM AND TELEVISION TAX CREDIT

Produced by A Murder of Crows Inc. © 2009

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SERIES PROJECT MANAGER
JANICE YOUNG

SERIES POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
LAURA METZGER

BUDGET CONTROLLER
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
JAYNE JUN

OFFICE MANAGER
EILEEN FRAHER

RE-RECORDING MIXER
ED CAMPBELL

HD ONLINE EDITOR
PATRICK KRASS

EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE
WILLIAM GRANT

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

This program was produced by A Murder of Crows Inc. which is solely responsible for its content.

© 2010 WNET.ORG Properties LLC
All rights reserved

WEB CREDITS

DIGITAL LEAD
BIJAN REZVANI

DIGITAL ASSOCIATE
CHIE WITT

INTERNS
SARAH DARRO
SAM EGENDORF

DESIGNER
JOY WEEENG

PAGEBUILDING
BRIAN SANTALONE

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
BRIAN LEE

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
NICK MILLER

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY
DAVID HIRMES

SENIOR DIRECTOR
DANIEL B. GREENBERG

WRITER

for “Introduction”
DANIEL BERNSTEIN

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