Who’s a clever birdie then? Crows, magpies and ravens exhibit remarkable intelligence
A recent study of crows in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific shows that the birds use tools to catch their food. From an article in the New York Times: The crow uses twigs to poke at a beetle larva until the larva becomes so agitated that it grabs onto the stick with its mandibles, at which point the crow yanks out the twig, having successfully captured its prey. For the family of birds known as corvids – which includes ravens, magpies and jays – the term ‘bird brain’ has no proper meaning. The brain…
