How smart are crows? - Katharina Brecht

Summary

This video explores the intelligence of corvids, a family of birds including crows, ravens, jays, and magpies. It highlights their remarkable problem-solving skills, such as using tools and planning for the future, as well as their ability to recognize human faces and mourn their dead. Through various experiments and behaviors, the video showcases how these birds use strategy to find food, cache it, and even display playful behavior. Corvids’ social lives and cognitive abilities make them some of the smartest animals on the planet, challenging old scientific views on animal intelligence.

Takeaways

• 😀 Crows are highly intelligent, as demonstrated by their use of tools and strategic thinking to solve problems, such as in the famous fable of the crow and the pitcher.
• 😀 In a 2014 experiment, crows were observed using stones to raise water levels in a pitcher to retrieve a food reward, showcasing problem-solving abilities similar to those described in Aesop's fable.
• 😀 Corvids, which include crows, ravens, jays, and magpies, exhibit remarkable intelligence and are capable of strategic food gathering, hoarding, and caching.
• 😀 A Clark's nutcracker can scatter up to 30,000 pine nuts across 2,000 sites and retrieve them months later, demonstrating impressive memory and spatial skills.
• 😀 Scrub jays are able to recall where, when, and what food they cached, even showing preference for more perishable food items first, indicating an ability to plan for the future.
• 😀 Crows and other corvids have shown the ability to recognize and remember human faces, and even respond with aggression when encountering individuals they've had negative experiences with.
• 😀 Corvids exhibit behavior around deceased companions, including gathering around them and cawing, which has been compared to human funerals, suggesting they may have an understanding of death.
• 😀 New Caledonian crows and other corvid species have demonstrated advanced tool use, such as fashioning sticks into hooks to extract food, and using cars to crack open nuts.
• 😀 Corvids also engage in playful behaviors, such as sledding on plastic lids, which may be linked to their extended developmental period and contribute to their cognitive abilities.
• 😀 Social interaction plays a key role in corvid intelligence, as they live in dynamic, cooperative groups where they communicate, share food, and engage in coordinated activities like mobbing predators.

Q & A

What is the main point of Aesop's fable about the crow and the pitcher?

The main point of the fable is that the crow uses cleverness and persistence to solve a problem. It drops pebbles into the pitcher to raise the water level and quench its thirst, demonstrating intelligence and resourcefulness.

How did the 2014 experiment with crows support the accuracy of the Aesop fable?

In the 2014 experiment, scientists observed crows dropping stones into a tube of water to retrieve food, mimicking the behavior described in Aesop's fable and showing that crows can use tools to solve problems.

What strategies do corvids use when searching for food?

Corvids are strategic in foraging, often raiding trash bins, stealing food from other birds, hoarding, and caching food for future use, demonstrating advanced problem-solving and memory.

How does a Clark's nutcracker's food caching behavior demonstrate its intelligence?

A Clark's nutcracker caches around 30,000 pine nuts in over 2,000 locations, and it can recover the nuts even months later, showing remarkable memory and planning abilities.

What does the experiment with scrub jays and their food caches reveal about their cognitive abilities?

Scrub jays not only recall where they buried food but also remember what they buried and when, showing advanced memory and planning skills. They also cache food for future consumption when they anticipate it will not be available the next day.

How do crows demonstrate their ability to distinguish between different human faces?

In an experiment, crows reacted aggressively to a person wearing a specific mask after being trapped by that individual, but ignored the same person when they wore a different mask, showing that crows can recognize and remember individual human faces.

What is the significance of crows' behavior around dead companions?

Crows' behavior around dead companions—gathering and cawing—has been interpreted as a form of mourning or social bonding. This suggests they may have some understanding of death and risk associated with it.

How do New Caledonian crows use tools, and why is this important?

New Caledonian crows use tools, such as fashioning sticks into hooks to obtain food. This ability to use tools is a key indicator of advanced cognitive skills and problem-solving, which is crucial for survival in their environment.

What does the behavior of Japanese crows placing nuts on the road tell us about their intelligence?

Japanese crows place nuts on roads and wait for cars to crack them open, demonstrating not only an understanding of cause and effect but also the ability to use tools (in this case, cars) to aid in food procurement.

How does play contribute to the intelligence of corvids?

Play activities, especially in juveniles, are thought to encourage learning and problem-solving, laying the foundation for the sophisticated intelligence seen in adult corvids. This extended developmental period supports their social and cognitive abilities.

Why are corvids considered among the smartest animals?

Corvids are considered highly intelligent due to their complex social behaviors, problem-solving skills, ability to use tools, and advanced memory. Their brain structure, although different from primates, supports sophisticated cognitive functions.

How did early scientists misinterpret the intelligence of crows?

In the late 1800s, German scientist Ludwig Edinger misinterpreted the crow's brain structure as primitive, underestimating its cognitive abilities. However, modern research shows that crows have a similar number of neurons in their pallium as primates, indicating advanced intelligence.