Clever crow creates a new tool

Betty, a New Caledonian crow, astounded scientists with her tool-crafting abilities, which were first reported in the journal Science in 2002.

The researchers were testing how New Caledonian crows selected tools by presenting them with a small bucket, placed in a well, which was filled with some food, and pieces of wire, some straight and some with a hook at the end.

The aim was to see whether the crows would select the bent wire to retrieve the treat-laden bucket.

But Betty astonished researchers when she selected a straight piece of wire and then used her beak to bend it into a hook so she could pull up the bucket of food.

This was the first time that any animal had been seen to make a new tool for a specific task, without an extended period of trial-and-error learning.

Footage courtesy of the behavioural ecology group, Oxford University

Link to Source and Video

Now this is cool stuffs. I don't know how many of you have seen or heard about this but wow these birds are clever.

I love how she makes the tool, uses it, gets the bucket, flies back down to use the tool again to get to the food.

[edit on 22-12-2009 by DaMod]

That is quite a clever crow creating a new tool
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"hes drinking the water"

"ID like to by your bird"
H. Simpson

sorry couldnt resist

cool bird wonder if it can figure out how to make me some money

yeah, i remember seeing this, it's incredible.

on a related note, a few weeks ago there was a report about the use of a tool by an octopus.

Pure conjecture but...

Maybe humans aren't the only ones going through a "transition".

Just had to put that out there. Could be total BS and I'm sure some will agree!

That reminds me of animals being able to use tools and that they have a brain.

But, I thought only animals like the ape had enough evolutionary timeframe to have developed human-like problem solving procedures!
Maybe Dawkins and sam harris should reconsider their stances. (not yet)