The Intelligence of Crows

[A Theist]

It's thought that the intelligence of Crows may rival the intellence of the Great Apes. Crows also fashion and use tools...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P8Nwl7FA...re=related

[Paul the Human]

Many species of birds have proven to be far more intelligent than anyone previously imagined. Crows, ravens, parrots, and others have shown a capacity for forethought, an ability to weigh the possible consequences of their choices, and an ability to understand language that is truly amazing. 'Birdbrained' is taking on a whole new meaning.

[Welsh cake]

Last year a sparrow kept following me around all summer, I kid you not, not sure why but it was very tame and friendly nonetheless, though obviously I couldn't touch or hold it. Every time I'd shoo it off it would return a few minutes later hopping alongside walls and hedges to get a better view of me.

I swear that bird was bonkers eventually it earned the nickname "Jack Sparrow" from my family as in the same fictitious character from Pirates of the Caribbean.

On several occasions I'd awake to see it perched outside my bedroom window peering though the glass watching my every moment. The bird's favourite past time by far seemed to be staring at itself in our car's rear view mirror. Last time I checked sparrows were not on the list of animals demonstrating self-awareness in the mirror test.

I haven't seen the bird this year and can only assume it never survived migration. :C

[Tiberius]

Wow, that is actually a great display of intelligence. Nice find A Theist.

[Anomalocaris]

It seems hasty to jump to the conclusion that the brain the size of a beer nut is as capable and versatile as a brain the size of a beer mug. It seems more likely that the bird brain may have been hardwired to perform a few types of tasks that are normally taken to indicate intelligence, but lack the versatility and adaptability of a more generalized ape brain.

[A Theist]

It seems hasty to jump to the conclusion that the brain the size of a beer nut is as capable and versatile as a brain the size of a beer mug. It seems more likely that the bird brain may have been hardwired to perform a few types of tasks that are normally taken to indicate intelligence, but lack the versatility and adaptability of a more generalized ape brain.

There are those who would argue that crows are as smart as the apes. Crows are also known to fashion and use tools, without prior training.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhmZBMuZ6...re=related

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I have always been fascinated with crows. I've seen dozens of them gang up on Hawks, just for what seemed to be the pleasure of teasing them. Another time, I watched as two crows team together in a hunt for rodent prey. Although it was a little gross to watch one them swallow a mouse whole, head first, with the tail sticking out of its beak. Here's a you tube video of a crow using bread as bait to catch fish, I've seen videos of other birds doing the same...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_8hPcnGeCI

[Anomalocaris]

Actually, being trainable to flexibly perform complex tasks is strong evidence of versatile intelligence. Chimps, dolphins, and other big brained mammals are highly trainable.

However, Doing complex tasks without training is ambiguous evidence that leans the other way. When a creature can do apparently complex tasks without training, it is more likely the creature was hardwired to excel at a narrow range of tasks including this one, and much less likely the creature's adoptive intelligence is so superior it reasoned out how to do it by itself.

To be sure, in cases where human infant ihas been raised without any training at all, they generally are unable to do some of the tricks these crows do. This suggests the crows are hardwired, unless you propose crows are natively smarter then you are, and lack only the training to trounce you in intelligence test.

[Welsh cake]

It seems hasty to jump to the conclusion that the brain the size of a beer nut is as capable and versatile as a brain the size of a beer mug. It seems more likely that the bird brain may have been hardwired to perform a few types of tasks that are normally taken to indicate intelligence, but lack the versatility and adaptability of a more generalized ape brain.

Its way more complicated than that. Cortical Folding of the cerebral cortex is as just as essential for the brain to deal with cognitive tasking than simply going by Brain-to-body mass ratio estimates Chuck, otherwise Sperm whales, and not us, would be the most intelligent animals on planet Earth.

[Anomalocaris]

It is more complicated, but the magnitude of the discrepency in the volume of cortical tissue can't be ignored.

[orogenicman]

It seems hasty to jump to the conclusion that the brain the size of a beer nut is as capable and versatile as a brain the size of a beer mug. It seems more likely that the bird brain may have been hardwired to perform a few types of tasks that are normally taken to indicate intelligence, but lack the versatility and adaptability of a more generalized ape brain.

New Caledonian crows have been seen in the wild teaching their offspring how to make and use tools. They wouldn't need to teach their offspring how to make and use tools if they were hardwired to do so.