Posted on 04/22/2010 3:23:28 AM PDT by Daffynition
New Caledonian crows have given scientists yet another display of their tool-using prowess.
Scientists from New Zealand's University of Auckland have found that the birds are able to use three tools in succession to reach some food.
The crows, which use tools in the wild, have also shown other problem-solving behaviour, but this find suggests they are more innovative than was thought.
The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The team headed to the South Pacific island of New Caledonia, the home of Corvus moneduloides.
Finding that the crows could solve the problem... was incredibly surprising Alex Taylor
They are the only birds known to craft and use tools in the wild.
The discovery that they whittle branches into hooks and tear leaves into barbed probes to extract food from hard-to-reach nooks astounded scientists, who had previously thought that ability to fashion tools was unique to primates.
And further research in the laboratory and the field has revealed that New Caledonian crows are also innovative problem solvers, often rivalling primates. Experiments have shown that the birds can craft new tools out of unfamiliar materials, as well as use a number of tools in succession.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
I knew crows were smart birds,but wow!
Brainy bird bump.
Caledonian crows are supposedly the smartest birds around.
So, if we keep teaching-to-the-test, the kids will eventually get it. ;)
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Thanks Daffynition. Their first album was pretty hot too. |
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What really impressed researchers was one crow’s use of a variable speed Reciprocating Saw.
Something to crow about.
I’m hiding my power tools from these birds.
Their ability to calculate the distance between oncoming speeding vehicle and a piece of roadkill is truly amazing.
There’s a crow in my neighborhood that “uses” cars to crack his walnuts! (Or hers, perhaps. I have to say all crows look the same to me.) The other day I saw him drop a walnut on the road in front of my house. He carefully nudged it with his beak, moving it 3 or 4 inches, then flew away just as a car drove by — right over the walnut. As soon as the car was past, the crow was right there, picking up pieces of walnut meat. I have seen him do it since then, too. Smart bird!
We can’t expect kids today to actually think, can we?
Sadly, thinking will only apply to crows in the future.
I agree. They know how much they can eat before they have to hop or fly away.
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