[ExI] [Bulk] Crow intelligence

[spike]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf
Of BillK
Subject: [Bulk] [ExI] Crow intelligence

>...A Crow solves an 8-step problem while finding, retrieving and then not
losing intermediate tools.

3-minute video.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVaITA7eBZE>

Remarkable for such a tiny bird-brain.

BillK





Thanks BillK for the timely posting that is a perfect introduction to the
remarkable observation I made yesterday.  

We have seen domestic dogs play with humans, as well as demonstrate a
willing eagerness to play.  Dog owners, you have seen Bowser go get his ball
and get all jumpy, wanting you to throw it.  Cats don't really show the same
eagerness to engage humans in play, but they definitely take advantage of
the toys we supply them, such as Christmas ornaments.

These are domestic beasts, but what of wild ones?  This summer on a sea
voyage, I saw dolphins racing the ship, leaping from the sea in an activity
that looked a lot like play.

Yesterday I watched seagulls on my son's playground at school.  These are
wild, but clearly are comfortable around humans.  If you watch closely, you
see that gulls are not identical; at least a few of them have identifiable
marks.  I have seen some of these guys before.  They hang out until the
kindergartners finish their lunch.  They seem to know most kinders eat
almost nothing, so most of their lunch goes into the trash.  These gulls
have figured out how to fetch the remainders.

You may have seen that under certain circumstances, gulls can catch items
out of the air.  Example, go to most any McDonalds where there are outdoor
tables.  Good chance gulls will be found nearby, and if so, some of them may
come swooping down asking for fries to be hurled in their direction.  Some
of them can catch the fries out of the air.

Yesterday, one of the kids had a superball.  He bounced it high, the gulls
caught it, which was not so remarkable, but what happened next was
astonishing.  He flew about with it, then dropped it near the kids on the
pavement.  It bounced around, the birds took it again, flew upward with it
and dropped it again as the kids cheered them on.  The gulls appeared to be
playing with the ball, and possibly teasing the kids.  Then it bounced off
the pavement into the grass.  The gulls retrieved the ball, flew up and
bounced on the pavement again.  It just looked like the gull version of the
reindeer games that Olive (the other reindeer) excluded poor Rudolph from
playing.

I didn't get video of that.  So now I hope to get a superball and see if I
can get them to do that again.

spike