A Little Story...That got me thinking...

I would like to share a little story, a story I witnessed outside my window. Our drawing room has a large window which opens out to the horizon (limited :P) and a Peepal Tree. Many times you can see me seated here gazing out into the oblivion. As my uncle would say...I smoke my imaginary pipe, as I stroke my imaginary beard, having a philosophical moment.

Once I happened to catch sight of a crow, working frantically on a branch of this tree. Ferrying leaves, sticks and other hay-like refuse, it was trying to build a cozy home. In a matter of days its nest was ready. A cute and comfy home, ready to welcome the crow and its family. There were two crows. The mother who would mostly sit in her nest, fidget a little until she was comfortable. The father crow meanwhile could be seen perched on the branch near the nest or flying sojourns to find food or any other thing the mother would fancy. :)

Then as expected the nest suddenly had three eggs. Now guided by instinct the mother would guard her eggs fiercely. Her instincts tell her how to protect her eggs and ensure they are hatched. Any other crow or bird or even a squirrel which dared to venture near her nest would be met with a stern glare of her eyes and fluttering of feathers. The other birds soon leaned to keep their distance from her nest. The father crow would still fly out to find food and sometimes would take up position to guard the eggs while the mother flew.

All stories don't have a happy ending and even this one didn't. A couple of days later I noticed there was unconfortable activity at the nest. To my shock, the eggs were missing. The poor crows could not understand what had happened but I could see that a hole at the bottom of the nest was the culprit.

Mother crow was probably shrieking in grief and kept helplessly fluttering her feathers. She flew away and came back to the nest several times in a day. I could feel the pain but I wondered if she felt the pain,as an emotion?

After a few days, the crow did not return back. I thought I would see her again, visiting her nest,but strangely no crow ever fluttered back to the place which the two crows once called 'home'. Soon the nest was all cleared and very little remained to indicate what had transpired. Clearly her instinct told the mother that it was time to move on.

And that's when I got thinking about 'instinct'?
What makes it possible for a species of a lower intellect to commit deeply, protect its loved ones, procreate and then Let Go?
Humans on the other hand can't just do it. And humans also show a paradox. First we can not give enough of ourselves and then pain, anxiety of separation and loss lingers much longer than is sometimes healthy!

Was Charles Darwin Wrong? Is Intelligence really inversely proportional to instinct and ur thinking?

When we really have to make a decision, does a lack of instinct and an abundance of knowledge perhaps leave us with more options and reasoning? Or does it just leave us discombobulated and at sea?