LAUSR

Significance Attention is a crucial ingredient of intelligent behavior because it allows for selective processing of one aspect of the environment at the expense of others. We hypothesized that carrion crows exhibit both reflex-like driven (exogenous) attentional orienting responses in addition to cognitive control over (endogenous) attentional resources. We adopted the influential Posner spatial attention protocol using four crows. We found two separate attentional mechanisms at work in crows: a moderate, transient exogenous attention process and a strong, long-lasting endogenous attention system. While reflexive exogenous attention is widespread in the animal kingdom, enduring endogenous attention is seldom found. Its prominent effects in crows suggest substantial attentional capacity and robust cognitive control in this species.