Tool-making Crows

New Caledonian crow with hunting tool. (credit: UK Royal Society)

Research published in the Royal Society's Biology Letters, documents the tool-making abilities of crows in New Caledonia. The birds can combine objects to construct novel tools to fit their specific needs when foraging for insects and larvae. Other animals and birds are known to use tools, but these crows are distinct since they manufacture the tools they use to forage for their prey. The tools can be hook-like or straight depending on the situation the crow faces. The UK investigators later captured video of behavior experiments designed to illustrate the crow's intelligence. WHB

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