Crow uses a metatool

[DemonAMVs]

Video needs to be smaller and have less sounds!!!!

[SuperColossal33]

does anyone know where the next version of this is? They had the smaller stick hanging from a perch by a string, the crow pulled the string up, got the stick, which it used to get the larger stick in the cage, then get the food.

It was on PBS

[questerbob]

@xen0cide45

They're actually that smart. I've seen them use a street intersection to crack open nuts with super hard shells. They would drop it onto the crosswalk and wait for a vehicle to run over it. Then they would wait at the corner of the sidewalk, with people sometimes, and watch for the walking signal to turn green in order to go eat the nut.

[xen0cide45]

Was it conditioned to do that or are crows naturally that cunning?

[BuTTerMeLLow]

Only "New Caledonian" crows are known to do this - naturally, with no training. I'm pretty amazed. o_0

[BuTTerMeLLow]

Sorry, I should have said that, in their natural environment, these crows are actually cunning enough to fashion sticks into hook-like tools themselves, which they then use to obtain food. This experiment doesn't quite involve all that...

[LOLMAN22]

ignorant much? Having more melanin in a human skin doesn't make anyone a monkey. Go take some science classes

[fancyshmancypants]

Did you ever think that they were talking about the previous president? You can't honestly tell me you've never heard any of the numerous jokes about George Bush being a monkey. You're one to talk about ignorance. You automatically assumed they were being racist.

[LOLMAN22]

hmm never thought of that, but still he posted that comment 3 months ago, obama was already the president then.

[mixmasterPs]

Wow, that is quite racist.

[mesmashyoudie]

I was posting about George W. Bush, And not racist at all.

Not many note when ya call Bush a Monkey, Which I do, because he resembled one. But the fact that you'd react differently depending on if I insult the black or the white president kinda makes you the racist.

[mixmasterPs]

Ya I'm racist against white people.

[lonniegallam]

@mesmashyoudie Me too. I am glad he is gone.

[equsnarnd]

For those of you here who think this is pretty cool, and I certainly do, there is a book out that you might really enjoy full of anecdotes from around the world and reports from field researchers on animals behavior: When Elephants Weep.

[corwid]

Very clever crow, and he does his "thing" , with a speed of the pro`s.....LOL. Thanks for sharing.

[LOLZCPT]

People are hesitant to believe that corvids and other birds could possibly be intelligent because of our history with birds. Our amateur theory that the larger the brain, the smarter the animal was lead us to believe that due to the small brains that most birds possessed, they were not intelligent.

[LOLZCPT]

We concluded that larger-brained animals, such as many mammals, were more intelligent. Furthermore, in the past centuries, we've kept furry mammals as pets--dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, etc--and those have led to even more judgemental nonsense. Religion has also twisted this...We think that humans are closest to God, therefore other mammals, closer than reptiles or avians. In truth, avians have very concentrated brains... Intricately wired, information processing brains...

[darthisaiah]

Oooo i want a crow. They are smart, and they are cool. "Devil chicken, peck that guy eyeballs out." arghh!

oh yeah blacks my favorite color.

[LilacCotton]

According to the Quran, during one of the early battles to establish Islam in Arabia, the Quraish were literally pummelled with stones dropped on them by birds. So it is absolutely a sensical story.

[xRumpusx]

Well if the Koran says it then I am very sceptical, given that it is a lot of offensive nonsense.

[LilacCotton]

My kids literally saw a bird swoop down in front of their school bus to scoop up the dead body of another bird so that it would not be further disfigured by the impact of a moving vehicle.

[kingofthenoobs]

either that or the bird was hungry

[LilacCotton]

No. Birds of prey don't feed on dead animals. Yes, we have vultures around here but this bird was small like a sparrow and couldn't actually carry the corpse..just scooped and tossed it to the side.

[rejoycement]

Then that means it was gonna eat it nut then realised it was too heavy.

[dynimite123]

i shoot crows when in out hunting, even the tool using kind!

[mk0001]

saw a sparrow using a ladder to get to the roof...

[1brown1]

lmao malcatron

[sjp1000]

Yeah.But can he use chopsticks?

[Jordarnm]

They took my brother today. I am not saddened, as I have already given up hope. The house rumbled and shook as their sirens sounded. A great mechanical claw broke through and tore him from my arms. I heard their triumphant cawing rising above the industrial clanging and booming of their great war engines. It seemed almost that they were saying, "Human flesh! Human flesh! Take all the human flesh!"

[SweatersDotCom]

Crows don't really do that do they?

[Jordarnm]

Yep, all the time.

[Ichinin]

No, they post videos on youtube to make you religious people shit in your pants when your fantasy world with mankind on top is crashing down on you.

[TheMathGuy]

Um, yes. They really do. Humans are not the only species of intelligent life. About the only thing we humans have that no other animal has (that we know of) is a complex language with a grammatical structure that allows us to communicate abstract concepts to one another. Some other animals even have language, just not with the complex syntax that our languages have. A bird probably couldn't tell you about the difficulties that a friend of his had in obtaining food because of believing some

[TheMathGuy]

piece of false information about his environment, for example. The idea of another bird being mistaken in it's beliefs is probably a foreign concept to a bird (to even HAVE such a concept in one's mind, I think the language to express it is a necessary prerequisite). It is our symbolic language that extends whatever slight intellectual advantage we may have over the other animals to entirely new levels of ability. We're really not all that much smarter than them (some of us may even be dumber!)

[SweatersDotCom]

Hahaha... I forgot that I posted that comment. I was being facetious; it's pretty obvious that crows really DO do that, considering there's a video of one doing it right here.

I offer sincere thanks to the people who posted thoughtful replies, and sarcastic thanks to the people who called me a religious freak for no reason I can figure out.

[CliveEastman]

"<i>A thirsty crow found a pitcher containing some water, albeit too little and low to reach. As it seemed she would die within sight of the remedy, the crow struck upon an idea to drop pebbles into the pitcher. The water level rose and the crow was able to drink.</i>"

This story is over 2000 years old. They just didn't have camcorders back then.

[malcatron]

That's nothing I saw a badger using a calculator.

[adonis1077]

i saw a cat play bass guitar...-sigh- it was only a bass...

[3Deity]

I was awoken to sounds of hammering from the the pit, The crows continued working on their giant fighting machines. Now too, my house was in range of their deadly heat ray...

[cory463]

hahahahaha

[starrynightuk]

This crow is has also made some 'your mom' type youtube posts as well I hear!

[AndroidFascist]

Funny how that crow is probably smarter than me

[Speedois]

Crow's ate my little brother. All that was around the remains of his body were lots of sticks ...... surrounding bigger sticks ..... BEWARE THE CROW.

[CheckDiddles]

wait a miute i recognise that crow! That's the one that tried to run off with my little sister last christmas! Cheecky bugger.

Anyway, actually very interesting and should make people think about taking crow out of their diet. think about it...

[TSM9356]

a crow recently tried to lure me into a wooded area using cooing noises. he promised me gooood things. but i resisted. he promised me shiny things, but i stood fast. crows are clever

[TarutaruBuddah]

AH! Awsome, I agree.

(Mind if I use this quote on my binder, I'll even put: "quote by TSM9356" on it.)

[col1n1234]

just you watch, they will start to build gun's and start sooting back at us. LOL

[thegoldenmuscle]

I for one welcome our new corvid overlords.

[thegoldenmuscle]

This crow should be running for president.

[thegoldenmuscle]

Take your bible spam elsewhere.

[TheREALGabe]

Screw you.

[CheckDiddles]

I am an aethiest and have little time for religion per se. I do however respect the beleifs of others and strongly beleive that they anyone should be able to express their religious views however uncomfortable it makes others. To make a comment such as this shows a puritanical closed mindedness once espoused by the very people you here disrespect.

[thegoldenmuscle]

His quote has nothing to do with crows using tools. Hence it is spam. But it is also bible spam, which is more obnoxious.

[newscientistvideo]

Hi all, we generally like it if comments stick at least vaguely to the point. :) I don't see that the original comment had anything to do with crows, tools or animal intelligence - so blocked as spam it shall be! Michael Marshall, online editorial assistant

[perdition07]

I like turtles.

[Marty20x6]

I thought I read somewhere that it's only considered really a tool if the animal modifies it, and then uses it. The crow used the stick as it found it, it didn't alter it in any way. Somewhere I read something about the significance of creating the tool, not just using it.

[USKAnubis]

The real significant point here is not that the crows are using tools; it is that they are usings tools (metatools perhaps wasn't quite correct) to obtain another tool, to then get the food. It is that link of "this tool can get me food, how do I get it?" that is interesting here.

[magusmagic]

I would now like to see it get the cellophane wrapping off a new dvd

[wrexshunt]

SO WHAT, I CAN DO THAT AND I`M AN ANT !

[1nazchan]

People knew crows do this centuries ago, it was in old childrens stories.

[dam0nk3yking]

the crows also talk in childrens stories...

[1nazchan]

But they don't actually do that >_>

[mrXknuckles]

I had a pet crow that could talk.

[Niemenzki]

The crow picks up longer stick with help of shorter stick so it can take meat from the box with the longer stick.

[bosrijk]

look for other very smart crows under "caledonian crow"

[barnst3ad]

a "metatool" would be a tool to make tools.

[drchickolas]

pah i could do that!

[dam0nk3yking]

hahhaha

[sharples01]

if that thing ever works out how to use a can opener, it the end of the world as we know it! aaaaargh

[JohnDeBunkTest]

Crow uses a meta tool.

Title explains video.

Very informative.

[arocketsurgeon]

Crows are crazy smart.

[marklethanarkle]

that's awesome!