Gregory's ServerAperiodic friendly reminder that crows are smarter than we give them credit for
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55 comments
  That is puzzling stuff. @skua I noticed that. My first thought was their visual processing (as applied to this task) probably isn't like ours. Of course, they're not human, so nothing says they need to have the same cognitive process *around* tool using that we do. What looks like 'off-track' or 'distracted' to us might just be part of how *they* think about tools. Bearing in mind that their language probably includes full-body gestures, that might even be the crow talking to themself.  @epiceneVivant @skua I thought it clearly went to check if it had pushed far enough yet. Third time’s the charm.  @sjuvonen @epiceneVivant @skua yeah that’s what I saw him doing too. He pushed it a little then he went to see if he could reach it, then when he couldn’t he went back and pushed it some more.  @skua @epiceneVivant  @skua @epiceneVivant yeah, it is almost like he can't see through the tube that we see as clear, as well as we can. He has to go right and check twice to see if he accomplished the task, walking straight by the visual indicator that is clearly showing that no, he hasn't. Wild animals don't waste energy, their lives are too stressed. If he could see it he wouldn't check until done. The tool use is the main thing, but there is a 2nd paper in this if it could be confirmed. @adamhotep @epiceneVivant Lateral thinking! The pieces will go into the box now.   @adamhotep @epiceneVivant I guess I came out on the better side of that argument. Now I get to say "Pffffft, see? They _were_ unobservant morons."  I see a crow very frustrated this "made for soft fingers with opposable thumbs" human game. totally anti-crow. F* this game.   @adamhotep @epiceneVivant Now show the crow the, "and this goes into... THE SQUARE HOLE!" video. @epiceneVivant He executed a plan. There is a lot going on in that crow brain. @shojiwax When thinking about crow cognition I sometimes remind myself that just because their brain has a lot less volume and mass than ours, that doesn't mean they must be less intelligent. The evolutionary process is notorious for producing *really inefficient* solutions. Maybe our brains just have some glaring inefficiencies that crows' brains don't  @epiceneVivant You're seriously suggesting that humans aren't, or may not be, more intelligent than Crows?  @ecadre @epiceneVivant Not OP, but personally, I think so. Humans aren't special. Humans aren't "smarter" or "more intelligent" or more deserving of respect, rights, etc. Humans aren't even the only ones with fancy language. (Look at dolphins.) Human superiority is /so/ deeply ingrained into society you're probably thinking "b-b-but HUMANS!" @epiceneVivant  @nilsskirnir @epiceneVivant I see the same, except they put it in the ruts in front of the traffic lights, so cars usually don't miss them.  @epiceneVivant @solarpunk_crow Crows are able to create tools, adapt them to the task at hand, and share their knowledge with each other. They can think at least three steps ahead to complete a complex task. They're amazing and I wanna make them my friends. Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/new-caledonian-crows-plan-ahead-with-tools @Cal @epiceneVivant oh I'm aware! They're a Special Interest of mine. There's a reason I chose crow as part of my username! @epiceneVivant I read "cow" and I was perplexed by the cow's small size :blobcatgiggle: @epiceneVivant so this one is not yet familiar with the idea of length, are there other videos of this crow ? Unlikely the same crow, @rumi, but some can estimate length pretty well to even pick and retrieve the right sticks in sequence. For more footage, check out the references of this compilation. Cc: @epiceneVivant @epiceneVivant I love how they even figure out that they can break off a bit of the stick that's getting in the way of it fitting into the tube!! very good work, crow @epiceneVivant I was trying to befriend the crows in the cemetery and they know what my car looks like, and they also know about what time I show up. If they aren’t gathered by my plot at the usual time they will see me coming through the cemetery and they will show up right after I get there.  I am totally convinced that, had not the great apes first developed language and technology, birds would have, eventually. They have much smaller brains and are yet capable of very complex intellectual tasks. @mina @epiceneVivant who says they don't have a language? They have it. It's just that we don't understand them. @epiceneVivant This is why it amuses me when people speculate about what if dinosaurs had evolved sapience. What do they think corvids are?  @epiceneVivant Years ago, a young magpie found its way into our sitting room via open, unscreened doors. When I entered the room, it waited as I crossed the room, opened the window, and removed the screen before it flew out the window. @epiceneVivant I'm always nice to crows. They remember you and I don't want any shenanigans from a sky missile.  @epiceneVivant @epiceneVivant To me, the awesome part of this video is not the tool use itself (that alone is pretty cool though), but the fact that it tried to insert the stick, figured out that the end wasn't suitable, then _adjusted_ the end of the stick and tried again. @epiceneVivant I do not have a link, but relatively recent studies have shown birds (and therefore one assumes most non-avian dinosaurs had this as well) have more "compact " brains than mammals, which partly explains why the larger corvids and parrot species are on par with chimpanzees despite much smaller skulls.  |
@epiceneVivant They are soooo smart.
@bkahn