Crow

"Hey, Maude, listen to this! Ronnie, my oldest, is taking his SATs this year."

- Flo

Crows are a species of birds that appear in several Mario franchise games, usually as part of the scenery and are usually seen inhabiting dark and gloomy-looking places. While nobody understands what they say initially, they are actually very intelligent and often discuss complex issues, such as family matters, stocks, the environment, and even university applications, but they mostly do this when no one is around, and when in presence of other people, they mostly make "caw" sounds. Their intelligence is a reference to how actual crows are highly intelligent species in the animal kingdom, rivaling chimpanzees.

Luigi's Mansion
Crows make a cameo appearance in the opening sequence of Luigi's Mansion. They, alongside the foreboding scenery, frighten Luigi, making him reluctant to enter the mansion.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Crows also appear in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. Here, they have a purple appearance and act like enemies; they can hurt Luigi, but he can suck them up with the Poltergust 5000 or flash the Strobulb to defeat them, which will make them drop a bill or some hearts. Most crows in the game are found in Haunted Towers. Gold Crows also appear and fly in a certain direction before disappearing. When the Strobulb is used on one, it drops five bills.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Crows also appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They appear on trees, and when Mario talks to them at first, they simply caw. When Mario uses Vivian and hides under a tree, however they say other things. Vivian explains that they only pretend to be ignorant when people are around. Only some crows give tips in the game. The crows in the game all appear only in Twilight Town. They are shown to talk about a variety of subjects, ranging from internet stocks to which university their children should go to.

One thing notable about this game is that some crows actually reference Luigi's Mansion at some point, which should be familiar, as they made their debut in that game.

Mario Party 8
Crows also make a minor appearance in Mario Party 8. They can been seen in King Boo's Haunted Hideaway.