Adept crow

Adept crows are a group of birds primarily from the family Corvidae inhabiting Serania characterised by their role in creating and maintaining ecosystems where many other species of plants and animals have been 'domesticated' seemingly to serve their needs. Like Old World corvids, adept crows exhibit exceptional intelligence for avians, and make extensive use of tools, which are widely employed in fashioning complex dwellings and exploiting other species.

Most species of adept crows are colloquially named for jobs and positions in Outer Joriscia because of suggestions, historically in jest but recently argued for seriously in some elucidations, that they possess Knowledge or live in societies that can be analogised with human ones; the overarching label itself refers to the title of adept in Vaestism. Examples include the most widespread and well-known 'gazetteer crow' (or the 'red-capped crow') of Felicia, the 'emperor crow' of Melky Strana, the 'scholar crow', and the 'recorder crow'.

Some recent studies of adept crow communities have controversially suggested that the breadth and apparent level of sophistication of their habitat is such that they may be developing the beginnings of actual sapience, as that term is defined by humans. These have received little support in the scientific community at large – and have excited ridicule in popular media – and the dispute over their validity continues.