Tag Archive for 'New Caledonian crow'

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are particularly careful when handling their most valuable tools. Image credit: James St Clair.

New Caledonian Crows Prefer Hooked Stick Tools, Safely Store Them Underfoot or in Holes

Dec 22, 2021 by News Staff

According to a new study, New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) strongly prefer hooked stick tools made from stems of the ground tamarind (Desmanthus...

Identifying the raw material used by wild New Caledonian crows for manufacturing hooked stick tools: (A) New Caledonian crow holding a hooked stick tool manufactured from Desmanthus virgatus at site-2; (B) satellite photograph showing study sites on the west coast of Grande Terre, New Caledonia; (C) timeline of animal-centered approaches employed while attempting to identify the tool material used at site-3, with short explanations for their limited success; (D) timeline of the artifact-centered, DNA barcoding approach which ultimately led to successful material identification; (i) hooked stick tool recovered at site-3; (ii) Mimusops elengi trees, with close-up of a forked terminal branch, which would be suitable for tool manufacture; (iii) simplified maximum-likelihood ITS phylogenetic tree detailing clustering of tool samples and a subset of reference data; (iv) ‘refit’ of a hooked stick tool made from Mimusops elengi material by a temporarily captive crow from site-1: the tool is displayed along with stem and plant debris which were discarded by the crow during the manufacture process. Scale in mm. Image credit: Steele et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2020699118.

Scientists Use DNA Barcoding to Identify Tool Materials of New Caledonian Crows

Jul 27, 2021 by News Staff

Using a taxonomic method called DNA barcoding, researchers have identified, from just a few recovered tool specimens, the plant species New Caledonian...

A wild Siberian jay parent (left) and its retained offspring (right) foraging together. Image credit: Michael Griesser.

Study: Extended Parental Care Helps Juvenile Siberian Jays and New Caledonian Crows Grow Smarter

Jun 3, 2020 by News Staff

New research on two corvid species, Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) and New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides), shows that extended family life...

A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides). Image credit: Jolyon Troscianko.

New Caledonian Crows Enjoy Using Tools, Study Finds

Aug 26, 2019 by News Staff

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are well-known for their sophisticated tool use. According to a new study, these birds behave optimistically...

New Caledonian crow with a stick tool. Image credit: Auguste von Bayern.

New Caledonian Crows Can Combine Objects to Construct New Compound Tools

Oct 29, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, habitually tool-using New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are able to create...

New Caledonian crows know what it takes to make a good tool. Image credit: James St Clair.

Researchers Discover Why New Caledonian Crows Make Hooked Stick Tools

Jan 22, 2018 by News Staff

A University of St Andrews-led study shows that New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) acquire hidden food several times faster when using hooked...

Study Provides Insights into How New Caledonian Crows Make Their Hooked Stick Tools

Dec 10, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of St Andrews has discovered how New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) make one of their most sophisticated...

Captive Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis) using a stick tool to extract food from a wooden log. Image credit: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Global.

Hawaiian Crows Show Talent for Tool Use

Sep 15, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr. Christian Rutz, a researcher at the Centre for Biological Diversity at the University of St Andrews, UK, has discovered...

New Caledonian Crows Caught on Camera Making Hooked Stick Tools

Dec 28, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has captured first video recordings documenting how New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) make ‘hooked...

A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) uses a twig. Image credit: Jolyon Troscianko.

Scientists Find Evidence of Social Learning among New Caledonian Crows

Sep 9, 2015 by News Staff

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) make and use tools, and tool types vary over geographic landscapes. How the birds transmit knowledge to each...