Intelligent corvids and Aboriginal myths

from Thirteen Ways of Considering Black Birds by John Bennett and John Laidler

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lyrics

Whirling cloud gathers behind our backs. A Torresian Crow flaps away, one of five native corvids along with the Australian Raven, Forest Raven, Little Raven and Little Crow.
Crows are carrion birds sacred to the Celts whose name for them meant 'flesh torn by fighting'. In Scandinavian mythology, crows represent Valkyrie, Goddess of Death. Corvids are usually seen as harbingers of doom, but some cultures view them as messengers from the gods, or tricksters.
The Yanyuwa People in the Gulf of Carpentaria tell of the Collared Sparrowhawk (Malarrkarrka, Chicken Hawk) Dreaming belonging to the Wuyaliya clan. He possesses fire. The Crow (a-Wangka) Dreaming belongs to the Mambaliya clan and possesses water. The two argue, Malarrkarrka is thirsty and a-Wangka is tired of raw meat. They fight, a-Wangka steals water and spills it over the land, Malarrkarrka steals fire and scatters it north and south, and now we all have fire and water.
Corvids have small ‘bird brains’ but their small neurons are tightly packed. Their 1.5 billion neurons is a similar number to some monkey species, but communication between neurons seems more effective. They recognise themselves in a mirror, recognise human faces, like to play, can solve puzzles and use tools. Their overall intelligence is more like a Great Ape.
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The Yanyuwa People, Borroloola on the McArthur River, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory. https://www.monash.edu/arts/monash-indigenous-studies/wunungu-awara/animations/the-chicken-hawk-and-the-crow-malrrkarrka-kula-a-wangka