https://nautil.us/crows-are-even-smarter-than-we-thought-820066/
"Crows and ravens, which belong to the corvid family, are known for their high
intelligence, playful natures, and strong personalities. They hold grudges
against each other, do basic statistics, perform acrobatics, and even host
funerals for deceased family members. But we keep learning new things about the
savvy of these birds, and how widespread that savvy is among the corvid family.
Earlier this year, a team of researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State University
in Russia and the University of Bristol found that a species of crow called the
hooded crow—which has a gray bust and black tail and head feathers, making it
look like it is wearing a “hood”—is able to manage a mental feat we once
thought was unique to humans: to memorize the shape and size of an object after
it is taken away—in this case a small piece of colored paper—and to reproduce
one like it.
This kind of feat, according to animal behavior researchers, requires the
ability to form “mental templates.” Essentially, a mental template is an image
in the mind of what a particular object looks like, even when that object is
not present. Mental templates allow animals to create tools, which can be used
to get food or make a stronger nest, both ultimately leading to a better chance
of survival. They might also make it possible for individuals to learn about
tool making from other members of their species—and to pass along improvements
in tool making over time, often called “cumulative culture,” which so far seems
rare among non-human animals.
We have been looking for evidence that different corvid and other bird species
can create mental templates since at least 2002. That year, researchers
published findings showing that Betty, a captive New Caledonian crow, was able
to spontaneously bend a piece of wire to create a hook that she could use to
grab a hard-to-reach treat. Betty had successfully used a pre-made hook to
obtain the treat in earlier trials but in follow-up tasks didn’t seem to fully
understand how hooks work. The researchers decided she must have formed a
mental template of the hook, which she then reproduced. So far, researchers
have found that Goffin cockatoos, a kind of parrot, can also create tools
spontaneously, which could indicate similar mental agility.
But the new hooded crow findings suggest that the ability to learn this way
could be more widespread than we thought, says Sarah Jelbert, a comparative
psychologist who studies animal behavior at the University of Bristol and is
one of the authors of the study. Creating and using mental templates might be a
skill that evolved in the ancestor of all corvids, the “Corvida” branch of
songbirds, or perhaps it is even shared more broadly across the animal kingdom,
she says."
Via Bonobo and Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
