New Caledonian Raven: a bird that surpasses even monkeys in intelligence (9 photos)

We are accustomed to believe that our distant ancestors, the great apes, are the geniuses of the animal world. They use twigs to fish out termites, stones to crack nuts.





They even learned how to whittle spears from sticks! So it won’t be long until “Planet of the Apes”! But I assure you, we are expecting an uprising from the wrong people! It is more likely that humanity will be captured not by primates, but by... crows. Meet the New Caledonian raven - our future enslaver.

At first glance, the New Caledonian raven is no different from the average raven. The same black feathers, the same strong beak, the same intelligence - the key feature of all corvids. But the New Caledonian has become so knowledgeable that he claims to be one of the smartest creatures on the planet. What did he do to deserve such honors?



Looking to a bright technological future.

Let's start from afar. Namely, from the larvae of longhorned beetles. They are the basis of the diet of the New Caledonian raven. There is only one problem: insects live in the bark of trees. There were two chairs in front of the bird: either the raven would pump up its beak and turn into another woodpecker, or it would pump up its intelligence and learn to fish out larvae using tools. As you can understand, our feathered friend chose the second option. This ensured the birds a well-fed future and a fan base among ornithologists. Experiments began.





In nature, birds live in pairs and form small flocks, just like ordinary crows.

It turned out that it was not enough for them to take a wand. They make a hook out of it, bending one of the ends to make it easier to pick up the larva. Any reed will not be suitable for the role of an instrument. It should be flexible enough, but strong enough to maintain its shape and not break. And all this takes into account the birds!



The cane is an elegant element of the look. Even for a raven!

Skeptics will say: wow, surprised. Beavers, over there, are building dams. And they learned how to bend these sticks - damn smart guys. That’s how it is, only the engineering genius of a rodent is innate. He doesn’t check angles or make drawings in his head, but follows a clear program written in his genetic code. Crows do not have such a program. They, like people, pass on their accumulated knowledge from generation to generation, teaching young dunces the art of hook making.



Birds not only make sticks, but also carry them with them: they hide them in hollow trees and return to them when they go hunting.

But birds can easily learn other instruments—you just have to show them! Scientists conducted an experiment. The gist is this: first, the ravens were taught to throw a piece of paper into a box for a reward. Next, they were given cards of different shapes (large and small). The birds got the goodies randomly: some more often received the tasty treat for a small piece, others for a large one. And a finale that blows your mind. The birds were given a piece of paper that was noticeably larger than the cards. Raven deliberately tore off pieces of it to shape it, for which he received rewards more often. He recreated the item from memory!



This is me tearing my to-do list to hell and going on vacation with friends.

But these were flowers. The berries sang with each new experience. The longer scientists studied birds, the more they became convinced: New Caledonian crows are giants of thought that even apes cannot reach! Birds can make compound tools! In another experiment, birds showed that they can extend sticks using 2, 3 and even 4 separate elements in order to get a tasty treat!



Well, that's it, screw you, larva.

The most important thing is that the crows figured it out themselves. Unlike chimpanzees. A similar task was given to primates. Instead of a larva - a banana, instead of reeds - bamboo sticks. The monkeys just couldn’t stretch their brains and insert one cane into another. Eureka came to them only after people showed them this technique.

Everything we have described is only a small part of the abilities. New Caledonian crows fumble for Archimedes' law and pass the "marshmallow" test of patience. The devil knows what else they can do?! There is only one question left: listen, raven, why are you so smart, huh?



In the wild, the New Caledonian raven is almost impossible to study. It’s impossible to know for sure what else this bird can do!

Scientists believe that it’s all about registration. The New Caledonian raven is not the only one who shines with intelligence and intelligence. Hawaiian crows, waza parrots, woodpecker finch - all these birds have also learned to use surrounding objects to get food. And all of the above birds live on the islands. Scientists have the idea that island birds are smarter than their mainland relatives. And an analysis of brain size partially confirmed this - the birds from the mainland had less intelligence.



So be afraid, people, of the New Caledonian raven! These birds live in dense forests on distant islands - it is almost impossible to study them in the wild. Who knows, maybe they are already building their own civilization and hatching plans to take over humanity?