Everything Elko November 2018

THE INTELLIGENCE OF
Corvids
Contributed by
Lois Ports for
Bristlecone Audubon
CORVIDAE is a family of birds
that include the crows, ravens, jays,
nutcrackers and magpies. Corvids are
considered the most intelligent birds
that have been studied to date and their
intelligence surpasses most mammals.
THEY RECOGNIZE THEMSELVES
IN A MIRROR. Different colored spots
were placed on birds in a study. These
spots were only visible in the mirror.
When the birds with the colored stickers
saw themselves in the mirror, they
attempted to remove the sticker.
THEY CAN RECOGNIZE PEOPLE’S
FACES. Expert John Marzluff and his
fellow researchers at the University of
Washington set up a study to see if crows
could remember human faces. They
wore caveman masks while they went
to catch and mark the crows. Each time
they came back wearing these masks,
the crows would mob the researchers
and attack them. If they returned with
a different mask, or without a mask at
all, they were left alone. The researchers
continue to test the birds and they still
haven’t forgotten - even after a decade.
THEY ARE PROBLEM SOLVERS. In
one study, a crow was given a task to
complete that involved eight individual
steps that had to be solved in a specific
order to release the food reward. The
bird had to collect the tools, then use
them to complete the next step of
the puzzle. He was familiar with the
individual tools, but had not had to
combine their use before. The crow
completed the task. Crows are known to
drop nuts with hard shells into the street
and will wait for cars to come crack the
shell before swooping down to retrieve
the contents.
SEED SORTERS HAVE HUGE
HIPPOCAMPI. The hippocampus
is the part of the brain that controls
memory. Clark’s nutcrackers have a large
hippocampal complex relative to both
body and total brain size. They have
better spatial memory and do better
with tests involving food caching and
retrieval. If you can’t remember where
you put your food, you won’t be able to
eat.
THEY CAN ‘TALK’. Corvids are very
vocal birds, using squawks and knocks
to communicate with one another
and to outsiders. Birds such as ravens
can imitate noises such as computer
notifications and water droplets. But they
can also imitate human speech. There
are ravens at the Tower of London that
will squawk “keep the path” to tourists.
They can also mimic the sounds of pets
like cats and dogs, and predators such as
owls.
www.EverythingElko.com | November 2018
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