Crows are quite smart, maybe smarter than us humans since they have been around a lot longer than the human race has. They have their own way of communicating and can actually be taught to talk like parrots. Crows don't have quite the vocabulary that say an African Grey parrot does, but they can say quite a few words. Parrots can say short sentences. Crows eat pretty much what ever they can find, they are scavengers, you can throw out cracked corn, wild bird seed, meal worms, even cut up pieces of meat like chicken. If you see them in your area, you can get a container of fishing works like big wigglers and throw them out in the yard.
Yes, Crows have been known to snatch shiny objects, like field mice have been known to do. But I don't think feeding crows will get you your reward of riches other than maybe a special place in heaven for being nice to animals. Now as far as avian flu, I'd be more concerned with domestically raised ducks and chickens than wild birds. Sick birds don't last long in the wild, they will be picked to death by other birds.
Now you could hop up and down on one leg, while patting the top of your head with one hand and rubbing your belly with the other hand while squawking like a crow on a street corner and if I were to pass by, I'd flip you a shiny new quarter.
