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Tool-Making Crows

quisling76Cited 3× on HN, 2009–2016
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demo · general · evergreen · 2009–2016 on HN

A one-minute clip of the New Caledonian crow Betty bending a straight wire into a hook to retrieve food from a tube. It comes from a 2002 Science study on tool-making in crows.

HN links it as the clearest demonstration that crows can fashion tools.

Animals & natureConsciousness & cognition#crows#toolmaking#animalcognition#newcaledoniancrow

3 comments from Hacker News

@abruzzi2016-07 · in “When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)”

This is not nearly as complex a sequence, but has a bit of tool making. Specifically, bending a wire into a hook to retrieve food: ▶ this video

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@quadrangle2015-02 · in “A girl who gets gifts from birds”

bullshit. Perhaps you don't understand that crows use tools. ▶ this video and that they also are social and communicate with each other. They do give gifts to each other as part of courtship. We don't need to anthropomorphize to recognize plain facts about crows being intelligent and intentional and social.

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@branden2009-08 · in “Aesop Was Right: Birds Use Rocks to Raise Water Level”

Similar: ▶ this video A crow, given food in a thin cylinder and a piece of wire, bends the wire into a hook and pulls the food out.

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