eli5 : Why do small birds like sparrows take longer to fly away from the way when a vehicle is approaching them as compared to crows?

Question

I’ve noticed the sparrows fly away only when the vehicle is dangerously close to them. While crows seem to clear the path when the vehicle is at a distance

Note: this is just a layman’s observation so I could be wrong

In: Biology

Answer 1

Crows and Ravens are extremely intelligent and social birds that teach each other and their offspring as well as often analyzing deceased corpses of their own kind to figure out why it died. They are not acting on reflex, but rather know cars are fast and dangerous but stick to a set path along the road and make stops at intersections, and they actively watch for them near roads. Another good example of this is noticing how you often see Crows picking at roadkill just a few feet away from speeding cars, completely unfazed, because they know the cars are not going to leave their lane.