Crows Found to Be Naturals With Tools

New Caledonian crows have an instinctive ability to make and use tools, British researchers reported in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

They bred four crows in captivity and found all the birds were able to make tools from twigs without being taught. The crows were raised in artificial nests and then transferred to aviaries that contained a variety of twigs and food hidden in crevices. Two of the birds were shown by their human foster parents how to pry food out of tiny spaces with the twigs, but the other birds were not. All were equally proficient.