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Abdul Alhazred
Skeptic Friend
USA
58 Posts |
 Posted - 10/05/2007 : 07:31:20
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Not just tool users, also tool makers. 
Crows use tools to find food (MSNBC)
Birds bend twigs into tools and good ones are kept for future use
WASHINGTON - Mounting tiny video cameras to the tail feathers of crows, researchers discovered that the birds use a variety of tools to seek food, and even make their own tools, plucking, smoothing and bending twigs and grass stems.
"We observed a new mode of tool use that was not known before. We saw them use tools on the ground, using a little grass stem to poke and fish into nests," researcher Christian Rutz of England's University of Oxford said in a telephone interview.
New Caledonian crows had been known to use sticks to probe rotting trees for grubs, but they were never seen to use tools on the ground before.
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The lack of a rational explanation is not evidence for an irrational explanation. |
Edited by - Abdul Alhazred on 10/05/2007 11:31:44
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 07:45:28 [Permalink]
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Interesting article. Thanks, Abdul!
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 10/05/2007 : 08:19:33 [Permalink]
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The documentation of tool use in avians is pretty extensive, but not nearly complete. It's a fascinating topic, though. Here's three more.
I'm glad to see this in the popular media; the article ain't too shabby. Good find, Abdul !
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
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Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 12:05:06 [Permalink]
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Similar to crows - a few years ago I read a book called "Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds" about intelligence in ravens.
The Book on Amazon
A friend of mine had lent me the book because of my interest in evolution. As soon as I started reading I was sucked in and couldn't put it down. Chapters such as "Prestige Among Ravens", "Morality, Tolerance, and Cooperation", and "Deliberate Acts?" and the studies and examples contained in them blew me away. By the end it was uncertain just how smart the birds truly are, but clear that they are far more intelligent than the average person might casually assume. I can't express how riveting I found this book and the information contained within. The writing, too, is beautiful and flows. Anyone interested in evolution and animal intelligence would find it immensely fascinating. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
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| Edited by - marfknox on 10/05/2007 12:07:58 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 13:39:07 [Permalink]
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I read an article some years ago that said if you leave a snowmobile alone for a decent length of time in Yellowstone Park, when you get back to it you'll find your maps, compass and other gear spread out over the snow, and your food missing, because the ravens in the area have figured out zippers and Velcro. You might find some wrappers on the snow, too, but the granola bars themselves will be long gone.
This would, of course, be an example of birds using human tools (at least one way), but also an example of generational learning in birds, since the "pull on this thing to get at food" behaviour isn't hard-coded into the birds' genes. The younger birds are watching the older birds and learning the trick. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 14:54:09 [Permalink]
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http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp
Talk about adapting to one's environment. I just checked a forwarded email from my cousin to me at Snopes.com. Looks like it was a real one.
Bottom of the page shows a 'follow behind' video of the shoplifting seagull. |
"We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
"So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 15:50:21 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Randy
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp
Talk about adapting to one's environment. I just checked a forwarded email from my cousin to me at Snopes.com. Looks like it was a real one.
Bottom of the page shows a 'follow behind' video of the shoplifting seagull.
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That is hilarious, Randy! Educational as well, I suppose. That fellow has good technique. Sneaky looking as Hell, the way he cases the joint, snatches, and splits. 
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Crows use tools to find food
