Humans are simple creatures.

We clean up to go out and show off. Bright objects catch our eye and sometimes fascinate us to the point of obsession, and in desperation we will eat almost anything. We live shore to shore on almost every continent on Earth and prefer living in communities. We repeat, copy and imitate, and have our own slang, which is more like gibberish. We’re like crows.

Crows – those dreadful, noisy scavengers – have the same patterns of behavior.

Crows are very social creatures. A murder of crows can include thousands of black, glossy-feathered birds. They migrate and travel around during the seasons, and are found all over the world.

Humans cover the globe, living on the majority of Earth’s continents. We even travel in giant groups, flocking to one specific destination just to have fun.

Humans have so many different social groups: fraternities, sororities, majorities, minorities; we are always taking part in something. Humans have to communicate and rely on others to survive, whether it be the person who builds your house or the person who makes your food.

We are not completely independent creatures.

Crows are notorious for preening themselves for mates, and showing off by being the loudest and looking the biggest. Attention is key. Humans are no different. Some girls spend hours getting ready for a day trying to attract a mate. A lot of guys become buff, loud and rowdy to get the attention of some girl. Crows will stare at their reflections with their little beady eyes for hours. Their desperation shows in those black eyes.

A lot of people know the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, when passengers stranded in the Andes resorted to cannibalism to survive. In desperation, humans will eat anything. Crows are scavengers. From fresh fruit to garbage, they will do whatever they need to in order to survive. That includes eating dead flesh. We eat a lot too; obesity is a national problem we have to work through.

The majority of the things which will draw people’s attention are shiny objects. We are naturally pulled in when something is bright. Some people will collect and hoard their shiny objects, showing their treasures off to visitors. Crows are no different: Those little black birds are notorious for collecting things that catch their eye. They fill their nests with their treasures and hoard them away.

There are some similarities that are impossible to ignore between both humans and crows. We are loud. The cawing of birds and humanity’s modern slang can sound like a cacophony of gibberish. Crows will echo each other’s calls.

Preening for hours, traveling in groups, eating anything and everything, and collecting shiny little things – it’s hard to tell which creature I’m describing.