Rethinking Bird-Brains

I think we think of speaking cognatively as the ultimate expresion of intellegence, and so tend to overlook animals that might be smart, but in different ways.

For instance my dogs are smart enough to learn the meaning of certain words, even the ones we haven't specifically taught them. Even my fish have learned to swim to the bottom of the tank when I walk near, beauese they know that might mean food.

reply to post by asmeone2

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Yep. I have a terrier. I never taught her anything, yet she learnt just about every command you could think of including 'Go put your toys in the car'.

More videos:

Talking starling:

YouTube Link

Talking raven:

YouTube Link

Magpie looking in the mirror: (this is for you Lashiec

YouTube Link

Another Egyptian Vulture:

YouTube Link

Short video about falconry:

YouTube Link

Haha. The funniest thing is how they have learned to manipulate us when they want to go out; they will start fighting until we throw them all outside.

reply to post by asmeone2

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Until they work out the carpet is more comfortable to "go" on than cold wet (or icy) grass and concrete.

Ugh, don't remind me, one of them is old and incontinent, luckily i have a stone floor, at least.

reply to post by asmeone2

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Mine don't have any excuse, they are just sneaky. It's difficult to punish a dog for a deed it did 20 minutes ago because they won't understand. Luckily if you catch them in the act once and are severe with them they seldom consider repeat offences.

Yes, that is very true. He actually is housebroken, but he is about 12 years old now and has some medial issues so he really *can't* hold it.

reply to post by asmeone2

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Allie, my terrier is 10, but for them 'old' isn't till about 15.


.......BUT back to birds and the topic, I was trying to get a crow fora pet for the exact reason brought up in this thread but they are pests in NZ and as such are not allowed to be kept as pets here. BAH humbug!

I think if I can get as a pet in New Caledonia then fly back I can have one as a pet but I'm not sure I'd be worth putting a single corw through 6 months of import quarantine.

reply to post by Good Wolf

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I don't think so. I think the "Smartest" birds are those that have been hand-raised by their owners since they were very young, thus establishing a strong bond. So even if you got a young crow you would probably loose your most teachable moments to the quarentine.

I want to do some experiments with the ones here, and see if they will recognize and eventually approach me me if I leave food out.

reply to post by asmeone2

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You should see if you can get them to speak at all. I know that crows imitate all sorts of sounds as a means to an end.

I would like to try that too but it may take more effort than I can really put into it.

I do notice, though, that the individual crows have distinctly diffrent "voices."

reply to post by asmeone2

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It wouldn't surprise me if they had accents, too. I know they have their own family languages and community languages at the same time.

Never thought of them having "Regional" accents but that makes sense in a way.

This group definitely seems ver close-knit. There are about 10 in all, I'd guess, and they usually flock around together.

It is difficult for me to tell them apart, since I rarely get a good look at them, but I would like to be able to match each bird to its voice one day.

They are kind of bullies, though. I think they have chased all the mockingbirds away and are working on the blue jays.

reply to post by asmeone2

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When doing my own research, I remember reading that one thing that had been observed was that the less tough dominant crows would lie to the more dominant crows regarding the location of food. I thought that was pretty interesting. They have very complex social structures.

reply to post by Good Wolf

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That is very interesting! I would love to see your source if you still have it, it definitely takes intellegence to lie.

I got a not-so-good video of the crows earlier this morning, it didn't show what I wanted to; there were 2 of them on top of the tree branch shaking the bird feeder and the ones below were eatng off of it.

I swear some of these guys have a 4 foot wing span. That would be huge, for a peT!

Well, I'm off to bed now.

reply to post by asmeone2

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I'll see what I can did up, most of it was talking about their ability to come up with novel ideas to unfamiliar problems.

That video of the crows utilizing cars and street lights is pretty crazy. Makes sense that they would adapt to ever expanding cities and so on by finding new ways to get to food.

reply to post by XSilencedxdream

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Crows are an animal that our expansion doesn't impose on because they are very adaptable, they are able to adapt to us as we change.

Many species of birds have adapted, if not benefited, from human expansion.

Bird feeders.

Bird baths.

Duck ponds.

Parking-lot birds.

Birds of prey, especially, seem to benefit; they really like the high telephone polls and signs around my house as perches, (A hawk once took out one of my neighbor's chihuahuas! ) Like this falcon(warning: he's eating)and roads mean easy meals to vultures and crows and other carrion-eaters.

[edit on 5-12-2008 by asmeone2]