I suspect many of us have known for years of birds in our neighborhood that recognized us, for good or bad.  I used to leave tallow (trimmed from a roast, for instance) on the edge of the roof, figuring if suet is good so should be tallow.  The crows were most appreciative, and quickly came to recognize me, whether or not I was carrying gifts.  They were very vocal and recognized me from a distance.  They certainly didn't offer this greeting to every passerby.
 
I no longer have access to the roof and prefer not to leave tallow at ground level for the rats, so I had to stop feeding the crows.  It must be a new generation nesting in the neighborhood now, or they've (quite reasonably) given up on me.

Carrol Cowan
Georgetown
Washington, DC

--- On Tue, 5/19/09, Janet wrote:



Here's an item from e!Science News worth reading -- "Research: Mockingbirds, 
no bird brains, can recognize a face in a crowd" 
(http://tinyurl.com/ojr47n).