BIRDS have a reputation for not being very bright, which may be why the work of Alex Kacelnik and his group at the University of Oxford is so intriguing. Kacelnik studies New Caledonian crows, which have a knack for using twigs as tools to dislodge tasty morsels and “fishing” for grubs, which bite and hold on to the twigs. Even more surprising is their ability to make different-shaped tools. The crows create and use hooks, a feat beyond the powers of chimps and even young children.
Where do these abilities come from – are they passed on genetically, learned by…
