Sometimes “ferocious” and demonized in history for their appearance that recalls noir atmospheres, crows are actually incredible animals, which could be even more intelligent than some primates. They are in fact able to perform complex actions, and even to build tools with their beak. This is demonstrated by some research from the University of St Andrews (UK) and Harvard University (USA)
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Sometimes "ferocious" and demonized in history for their appearance that recalls noir atmospheres, crows are actually incredible animals, which could even be as intelligent as some primates. They are in fact able to perform complex actions, and even to build tools with their beak. This is demonstrated by some research from the University of St Andrews (UK) and Harvard University (USA).
Crows have been a subject of study for many years for their abilities not "responding" to their brain structure. In fact, like primates and human beings, they are not endowed with neocortex, the most recent evolutionary structure that has always been considered the seat of "superior" intelligence.
These curious birds, however, share some higher-level skills with some primates, such as problem solving and adapting to new information and experiences.
The researchers highlighted that New Caledonian crows use twigs and branches to extract larvae and insects from inside trees and that this ability is not only typical of particularly "genius" individuals but widespread throughout the species.
The experiments also saw that the birds found stems they wanted even when they were masked by leaves of different plant species, suggesting that the search was aimed at finding a type of material they knew was right for the job they intended to do. Therefore one fully conscious choice.
Not only that: they are even able to solving puzzles and to use tools already known to them with different purposes, adapting them to the new action to be performed.
Studies therefore show unequivocally that you don't need a very big brain to choose, use and build tools: in fact the crows of New Caledonia, equipped with a brain the size of a walnut and a completely different neurological architecture than that of primates, have evolved to create incredibly complex instruments.
In fact, even the crows show one natural curiosity and especially younger individuals love to play. Not much differently from us.
“We have these incredibly huge brains but we use them to do crosswords. It is not on this that we have been evolutionarily selected " explains Dakota McCoy, author of one of the studies.
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The first work was published on Biology Letters and confirmed by subsequent studies approved by Current Biology.
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