Sledding Crow In Russia

Crow roof tubing (Ворона катается с крыши)
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Sledding crow in Russia soars to Internet stardom
Crows are presumed to be reasonably intelligent, and they often exhibit playful behavior. But do they like to go sledding on the snow? The accompanying video shows a crow in Russia sliding down a snowy roof while standing atop a jar lid--not once but twice--in an episode that has stormed the web, garnering 2 million views during the past week.
It's sort of a clumsy display but in the footage it does seem as though the crow is actually sledding for the mere sensation of doing so. Or are people bird-brains for thinking that?

Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor for The Atlantic, put the issue of crows and playful behavior to Alan Kamil at the Center for Avian Intelligence at the University of Nebraska.

"It is in keeping with the general reputation of corvids," said Kamil, after watching the video. "I don't know what to make of it scientifically but it is a cool example of a play-like behavior in a corvid."

That's about as far as the scientist would crawl onto the limb.

"Human beings have a strong, strong, strong tendency that if we see an animal do something that's analogous to what we do, like use a tool or answer an arithmetic question, we assume that the animal is doing it and understands the situation in the same way we do," Kamil added. "And sometimes that's true but more often it's false."

Perhaps, but non-scientists aren't so restricted in their thinking. Note the laughter of the children in the video. What they're seeing is a sledding crow, and the comical sight requires no further explanation.

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[B0NGERSON]

@belairjeff that crow is sledding, admit it...

[ColonelPercyFawcett]

@309temporary

watch?v=6uXiAe7Oc-I

[TheDannykaka]

Like a Boss

[handychodster69]

hey if you like this video youwill like mine look up

gopro sledding of roof faceplant fail

[ngmaze]

swag

[Saphruikan]

@waori

I guess we'll just have to wait until new and better tests are run. Sigh, those less exciting explanations sure are . . . less exciting. I know I'm being dumb to you, but I've heard and seen what wild birds can do, so I guess I choose to believe a crow can do stuff for fun. My bird messes with me for fun sometimes (or at least I think so, I mean, I can't think of another reason he would do the things he does).

[waori]

@Saphruikan No need to be sorry, there's nothing wrong with a good discussion and you weren't rude. They're definitely a very intelligent family of animals but tests of higher cognitive abilities, even in chimps, have shown it's incredibly difficult to provide evidence of abilities which aren't better explained by simple behavioural rules. It would be great to show that other animals do have these abilities but until the evidence is overwhelming, we have to assume the less exciting explanations.

[Saphruikan]

@waori

Oh shoot, I thought you were the first guy (balairjeff).

Therefore, most of my arguments aren''t valid, and I'm sorry. But I heard of some study a few weeks ago about whether or not animals do stuff just for fun. That's what made me look this video up in the first place. And I find it easy to believe because I own a bird and I know how smart they can be. If a crow is even smarter than a parrot, then how much of a stretch of the imagination is it to imagine a sledding crow?

[waori]

@Saphruikan Googling something isn't research. I'm perfectly aware of the issues surrounding the intelligence of corvids given the fact that I've studied it at a postgraduate level and most research concerning New Caledonian crows is carried out in the department I'm a member of. Videos like this prove nothing and don't count as evidence. I never said "it isn't" sledding for fun, I said that there's no valid evidence that it is. The burden of proof is on your positive claim.

[Saphruikan]

@waori

Just because YOU have never seen it doesn't mean there isn't any. Go Google it. And you certainly can't say "it isn't" because you can't accept that birds can be smart.

[waori]

@Saphruikan There isn't any scientifically valid evidence that I've ever seen, you certainly can't just say "it is" because you have no idea what's going on in the mind of the crow.

[Saphruikan]

@belairjeff

It is. There are tons of evidence that ravens and crows slide and sled in the snow for fun. They're probably the only animals besides us smart enough to do it. Why is it so hard to believe?