Clever Crows: Studies show that birdbrains are similar to toddlers in that they can count and make plans
Clever Crows: Studies show that birdbrains are similar to toddlers in that they can count and make plans.
According to recent research, crows are underappreciated in terms of their cognitive capacities, but they have an unexpected skill: they can count and organize their movements based on numerical cues, just like children learn to count items.
The study, which was conducted under the direction of a group from the animal physiology lab at the University of Tübingen in Germany, illuminates the complex intelligence of these city birds.
According to a study that was published in the journal Science, crows are able to match the number of sounds they produce with matching numerical cues, in addition to vocally counting up to four. This research casts doubt on the idea that only humans are capable of abstract thought and numerical reasoning.
The study’s primary author, Diana Liao, a neurobiologist at the Tübingen lab, was inspired by earlier studies on chickadees adapting their warning calls to predator size as well as by watching toddlers learn to count.
In order to show that the three carrion crows could make the appropriate number of calls in a predetermined amount of time, the study entailed teaching the birds to associate visual and auditory cues with numbers from one to four over the course of several sessions.
The crows were remarkably precocious, varying their reaction times according to the quantity of vocalizations needed. Their mistakes even resembled those made by people, proving the validity of their cognitive capacities.
These results cast doubt on conventional theories of animal cognition by indicating that crows are capable of planned and structured communication. This discovery opens new options for investigating the depths of bird cognition, but further research is necessary to completely comprehend the degree of crow intelligence.
Crows’ remarkable ability to make tools and perform intricate vocalizations has long amazed scientists. Our comprehension of these amazing birds is further enhanced by this most recent research, which challenges our presumptions about animal intelligence.
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