THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE RAVEN.

Ravens, despite their small brains, belongs to the most intelligent and the smartest of all the birds, gaining a reputation for solving ever more complicated problems invented  by ever more creative scientists. These birds understand the social hierarchy of other groups simply through observation.
 To give some idea of its intelligence, if the average IQ for a human being is measured at the 100 mark, then the average IQ of a raven in 138. This indicates that rather than the size of a brain, the neuronal density and the structure of the bird's brain play a very important role  in terms of its intelligence.
The raven's linguistic skills are legendary, and it can understand as well as imitate human words. The bird also have an incredible memory which allows its recognition of human faces. This is bad news for the people  that are not well liked by the bird, because the circumstances in which the bird will dive and attack faces are obvious.
The entire Corvidae family of birds, like crows and ravens, have been known for their intelligence long before many research was given to the subject. In addition to being one of the few family of birds capable of using tools to find food and solve problems, they have complex social structures.
Ravens are able to work out the social dynamics of other raven groups, something which only humans had shown the ability to do.
Ravens within a community squabble over their ranking in the group, as higher ranked ravens have better access to food and other resources. Males always outrank females and confrontations occur between members of the same sex. The dominant raven ensures that its social position is maintained. When a lower-ranking bird does not respond in a submissive way to a dominance call, the situation often results in confrontation and can provoke changes in the social structure. The stress that the situation brings to the community is expressed by the raven either running around or pecking at its own feathers.
Ravens are able to create a mental representation of relationship dynamics from groups they have never interacted with before, just like us when we watch television.
Being intelligent helps the raven play the politics of their social group, and gain dominance. Understanding the rank and nature of members of their group help ravens know which birds to pick on, which ones to team up with, and which ones to steer clear of during their quest for an organized dominance.