Intelligence crows solve abstract tasks

Crows are at eye level in terms of their intelligence with monkeys and humans

24/12/2014

Recent tests with crows have amazed scientists. Thus, they were able to arrange symbols according to categories rather than exact correspondence; and without previous training. This proves that not only can birds learn by heart, but they also have the ability to directly apply the knowledge they have just acquired. An achievement that could be observed in the fauna so far only in monkeys and humans. This was recently reported by scientists around Anna Smirnova of the Moscow Lomonosov University and Edward Wasserman of the University of Iowa in the journal Current Biology (Volume 25, p. 11 663, 2014). In their test series, the birds were able to assign "abstract symbols to other symbols that were not exactly identical but only similar in categories."

In the tests, the animals first had to use cards with certain symbols, other cards with identical symbols, e.g. assign a card with a circle to another card with a circle. A breeze for the crows, who mastered the task without any prior training. Then the difficulty was increased by showing them cards with about two circles and then passing them around, e.g. had to assign a map with two squares. Not only the shapes but also the colors were varied. Also this task solved the birds within a short time, also without any training.

It is this crows' ability that excites the explorers, for to understand an extended system of equality and correspondence requires a tremendous cognitive performance, previously known only to humans and great apes: „... we only know this feat from humans and monkeys, but here we are dealing with a bird, "Wassermann says of the crows' spiritual transference, comparing the crows' crows' brains among cubs with primates among the mammals. However, researchers do not see the real achievement in the fact that the birds master these abilities, but in how quickly they would learn them: „That's the real crux of the tests“, so Aquarius. „ Honestly, it would have been a formidable feat if these crows' abilities had been acquired through external training alone. But they were spontaneous.“ Aquarius continued, "For decades it has been thought that such abilities are limited to humans and some large species of monkeys, and the apparent spontaneity of this achievement makes them all the more remarkable." (Jp)