Rook uses stones to raise water level and get food 1

The first trial in which the rook Connelly is required to raise the water level by a varying amount. In this trial, seven stones are needed to raise the water level and worm to the reachable height. Connelly flies to the testing platform and investigates the apparatus before the stones are added. Connelly adds seven stones before successfully acquiring the worm. He then leaves the testing platform.

See the paper by Bird and Emery in
Current Biology 19(16): http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2809%2901455-9

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Rooks
• bird
• emery
• Current
• Biology
• tool
• use
• intelligence

[SupraJulie]

@feketepuss The point is that you could try the same thing with your dog or your your cat and they wouldn't figure it out in 100 years even if they are the Einsteins of their species.. All sorts of birds in the crow family have been shown to used tools in the wild however showing them doing it in a laboratory holds more scientific weight.

[feketepuss]

I'd like to know the scientific justification for providing the "tools" to the rook after it has been shown the problem. Is the rook actually deducing what to do and visualising a solution, or would it perhaps have put the stones in the tube (for whatever reason) had there not been a worm. Given the dreadful record for this sort of research in the past, I'm a little disappointed that they aren't being more rigorous.

[tsuji4]

wow that's amazing! He's smarter than I ...

[mastershake1000]

Haha, wow amazing.

[RuudJH]

This would be more special if the bird had come up with it on it's own.

Clearly this is a routine taught well.

[awtns4hm]

AMAZING!!!

[rainm2000]

what a amazing..

[besirovic]

Very smart animal

[empath123]

so was the rook shown what to do before hand or did he work it out for himself?

[bartoszrybacki]

There is a car driving school near my house, and I have observed rooks that are throwing walnuts just before the car, when it's driver is practicing parking. Then of course walnuts are cracked by wheels.

When lessons are over, rooks move to another place.