Corvids (crows, ravens, jays) are examined through a five-dimensional framework for animal consciousness, which asks what it might be like to be a corvid. The authors propose an empirically grounded but speculative answer, drawing on existing research into corvid cognition and sentience. They then suggest future research directions and discuss how understanding corvid consciousness could inform ethical treatment and animal welfare legislation.
A conscious being has a subjective point of view on the world and its own body, a concept easiest to grasp with vision, as Ernst Mach illustrated by drawing his own visual perspective. However, subjective experience encompasses far more than vision, including sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations—a complete sensory world. The text argues that these sensory experiences constitute a full subjective point of view, extending beyond any single sense to shape a person's entire conscious experience of reality.