Fun Bird Research!
Oct. 10th, 2007 07:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smile_n_cuddle Larceny among Crows... Depends on kin!
When the birds are related a crow will use a passive strategy and "walk up to or kind of sidle next to the bird with the food. Often the second bird will give up the food to the scrounger," said Renee Ha. "With aggressive scrounging, there is usually a flying approach by the thief who nearly lands on the other bird. This can be followed by vocalization, physical contact and attempts to take the food. Usually it also involves chasing and avoidance by the bird with the food."
Crows find Two Tools are Better Than One
"It was surprising to find that these 'bird-brained' creatures performed at the same levels as the best performances by great apes on such a difficult problem," Gray said.
The birds' tool-use skills rival those seen among great apes, according to the researchers. Moreover, it appears that the birds may have solved the problem that confronted them by using analogical reasoning rather than simple trial and error. Analogical reasoning requires the ability to see a novel situation as being essentially the same as a previous situation, the researchers explained.
"Evidence suggests that, from the earliest human stone tools, analogical reasoning has been at the core of human innovation," said Russell Gray of the University of Auckland. "This hallmark of human intelligence may also be at work in both the great apes and New Caledonian crows and may explain why--out of all the crow species in the world--only these crows routinely make and use tools."
Super Spiders make Bolder Birds
Lead researcher Dr Kate Arnold said: “We found that taurine has a significant impact on the personality and memory of the birds. Those who were fed taurine as chicks were on average much bolder and better at learning in adulthood, than their counterparts who were not fed the extra taurine. This is the first time that we have been able to fully explain why birds feed their young spiders at a particular stage in their development and how parents can permanently alter the behaviour of their offspring via the food that they select.”
When the birds are related a crow will use a passive strategy and "walk up to or kind of sidle next to the bird with the food. Often the second bird will give up the food to the scrounger," said Renee Ha. "With aggressive scrounging, there is usually a flying approach by the thief who nearly lands on the other bird. This can be followed by vocalization, physical contact and attempts to take the food. Usually it also involves chasing and avoidance by the bird with the food."
Crows find Two Tools are Better Than One
"It was surprising to find that these 'bird-brained' creatures performed at the same levels as the best performances by great apes on such a difficult problem," Gray said.
The birds' tool-use skills rival those seen among great apes, according to the researchers. Moreover, it appears that the birds may have solved the problem that confronted them by using analogical reasoning rather than simple trial and error. Analogical reasoning requires the ability to see a novel situation as being essentially the same as a previous situation, the researchers explained.
"Evidence suggests that, from the earliest human stone tools, analogical reasoning has been at the core of human innovation," said Russell Gray of the University of Auckland. "This hallmark of human intelligence may also be at work in both the great apes and New Caledonian crows and may explain why--out of all the crow species in the world--only these crows routinely make and use tools."
Super Spiders make Bolder Birds
Lead researcher Dr Kate Arnold said: “We found that taurine has a significant impact on the personality and memory of the birds. Those who were fed taurine as chicks were on average much bolder and better at learning in adulthood, than their counterparts who were not fed the extra taurine. This is the first time that we have been able to fully explain why birds feed their young spiders at a particular stage in their development and how parents can permanently alter the behaviour of their offspring via the food that they select.”
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Date: Oct. 12th, 2007 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 14th, 2007 05:06 pm (UTC)BTW, i don't think I have your cell! Could you e-mail it to me? sophiedophers at gmail dot com.