Corvid Intelligence

In past blogs we’ve discussed how intelligent members of the corvid family (crows, ravens and jays) are—crows and ravens in particular.

As more and more studies are conducted with these amazing birds we humans have been astounded to discover just how truly smart these feathered creatures are—even seeming to use logic and reasoning to solve “problems” created to stump them.

Click Here to see one truly astounding demonstration by a wild crow named “007”.

Mischief, a White-naped Raven, has learned to accept donations from WBS guests (photo: Gay Schroer)

The next time you visit the World Bird Sanctuary be sure to spend some time observing some of our Corvids.  You may be amazed to see them creating and solving problems for themselves with some of the “toys” that we supply them for enrichment. 

Most of our naturalists will tell you that they really have to be on their toes to keep one step ahead of our crows and ravens.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, Volunteer/Photographer

New Caledonian Crows Manufacture Tools

The manufacture of tools is a rare finding in the animal kingdom.

The New Caledonian Crow is showing scientists that, not only can they use tools to aid in foraging, but they are changing and making slight adjustments in the tool design.

 Abel with stick tool

The New Caledonian Crows construct distinct types of tools to aid in foraging for invertebrates (bugs and grubs) in trees.  In a study conducted by the Behavioural Ecology  Research Group from Oxford University headed by Professor Alex Kacelnik they were observed modifying and even manufacturing tools.  The study showed that they can modify and make a new tool with just about any material to solve new problems.

 Betty-with a wire she has bent when she found the straight wire would not work

This tool modification is something that has not been found in any other species than humans, but the new Caledonian Crow has shown that there have been advances in foraging tool design.

 Betty raising the tub from the well with a wire she has bent

Scientists say most of the tools they find are simple one step designs, but there are areas on the island where there are individual birds making multi-step tools--up to as many as 50 steps! The biggest advancements are the addition of a hooked or pointed end to help secure prey.

In the more controlled setting of the laboratory the New Caledonian Crow has excelled with many different challenges that scientists have thrown at them.

Diagram of the multi-stage challenge
1.  String is attached to perch
2.  Short stick attached to string
3.  Long stick out of reach behind bars - can be reached with short stick
4.  Out of reach scrap of meat - can be reached by long stick

A different research group from the University of Auckland in New Zealand created a more difficult problem for the Crows.  One of the most intriguing tasks set out for them was a multi-stage challenge.  The challenge was to pull up a string that had a small stick attached to it.  The crow then had to remove the small stick and use it to retrieve a larger stick in the back of a slatted box.  Finally, the Crow had to use the larger stick to retrieve the reward in a long narrow box. Without hesitation the crow started investigating the components to retrieve the reward and within 60 seconds the crow started to pull up the string to start the sequence of events to the reward.

The New Caledonian Crow is a highly social, innovative, and persistent creature that is capable of much more than we ever thought possible in an animal. To see some video clips of the amazing problem solving abilities of these remarkable birds Click Here.

As a follow-up to their laboratory study the research team has begun a field study that, among other things, has attached a miniature camera to wild Crows on the island. These cameras are attached to two central tail feathers, with the lens bent forward peeking through the subjects' legs to provide a "crow's-eye view" of the world (see photos).

 Wild Crows with “Crow Cams”

The true test to this whole idea that crows are tweaking tools to make them better is time.  With the passing of time we should see advancements in efficiency of the tools and also see a decline in the use of old or obsolete tools. 

Submitted by Adam Triska, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator    

Bird photos published by permission of Professor Alex Kacelnik, Behavioural Ecology Research Group

Crows

As I was browsing the internet this past week I was intrigued by a film that looked at the behavior and the intelligence levels of Crows. 

 Because of the Corvid family's intelligence Hugnin teaches audiences that..."even a bird can recycle"

The film focused on a study being conducted at the University of Washington where John Marzluff and his team have been studying the Crows’ abilities to facially recognize humans.

John Marzluff and his team in Seattle have been conducting some very interesting studies on the Crows in the Seattle area.  In the past Marzulff has estabished that the Crows that had been tagged at the University have not forgotten their experience.  He is reminded of this when he puts on the mask that he wore when the Crows were tagged.  At first the Crows that were tagged would harass him when he walked by with the mask on, but he noticed that over time not only did the original birds remember, but that individuals also spread the word to other birds.

 

This left Marzluff with some interesting questions about what we truly know about Crows.  To prove (or disprove) his theory he designed a study to put the Crows’ facial recognition and cultural transmission skills through a simple experiment.  What he planned on doing was seeing if Crows were able to pass on information from not just one adult Crow to another, but from one generation to the next.  This ability has only been found in primates and humans.  Marzluff did this by banding adult breeding pairs in 5 different locations. While the Crows were being banded the team wore a mask so the bird would recognize them as a threat.

As the baby Crows developed the team would walk through the area with the assigned mask.  What they were hoping to accomplish by doing this was to have the babies see and remember what their parents did when the masked man was around.

 John Marzluff and one of the Crows he has been studying

 As the study progressed the babies were banded, and tracking monitors were attached by Marzluff and his team without the mask on, so Marzluff and his team could observe the development of the young Crows. Marzulff had a total of 8 young Crows in the study and by November of the Crows’ hatch year only one had survived. Marzluff was able to locate this Crow and could run the last test in the study.

Marzluff first walked by the crow to record a normal reaction to an unmasked human, and the bird responded by doing almost nothing to acknowledge his presence.  However, when Marzluff put on the mask the reaction was much different. The Crow took very much interest in Marzluff with the mask on, and after a few minutes the Crow became so upset that it let out an alarm call.

Marzluff was successful in showing that Crows are capable of passing on vital information from one generation to the next.  This means they are able to change and adapt to their environment.

 Because of the Corvid family's intelligence, Hugnin, a White Naped Raven has learned to accept donations

When you think about it are we so different from Crows?  Crows and humans are social, adaptive, intelligent, opportunistic, and omnivores. The building blocks of higher intelligence are not exclusive to just humans; other organisms have also had success by using their head.

   

When visiting the World Bird Sanctuary be sure to take a walk down the display line where several corvids (the family that includes Crows and Ravens) are housed.

Submitted by Adam Triska, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator