True Facts: Crows That Hunt With Sticks

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Featuring the work of:
Dr Natalie Uomini, Max Planck Institute
Dr Anne B. Clark, SUNY Binghamton
Dr Michael Griesser, University of Konstanz
Dr Kaeli Swift, University of Washington
Dr Alex Kacelnik, University of Oxford
Dr Jolyon Troscianko, University of Exeter
Dr Christian Rutz, University of St Andrews
Dr Diana Liao, University of Tübingen
Dr Gavin Hunt, University of Auckland
Dr Nicola Clayton, University of Cambridge
Dr Sonja Hillemacher, University of Bonn
Zita Fülöp
Neil Smith

Citations:

Asakawa-Haas K, et al. Partner Choice in Raven (Corvus corax) Cooperation. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156962.

Bayern, A.M.P.v. et al. Compound tool construction by New Caledonian crows. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33458-z

Chappell, J et al. (2004). Selection of tool diameter by New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides. 10.1007/s10071-003-0202-y.

Düring DN et al. The songbird syrinx morphome: a three-dimensional, high-resolution, interactive morphological map of the zebra finch vocal organ. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-11-1.

Gruber, R. et al, New Caledonian Crows Use Mental Representations to Solve Metatool Problems, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.008.

Holtmann B et al. Dominance relationships and coalitionary aggression against conspecifics in female carrion crows. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-52177-7.

Hunt, G. Manufacture and use of hook-tools by New Caledonian crows. https://doi.org/10.1038/379249a0

Hunt GR, Villard P. Oscillatory extraction behaviour suggests functional attributes of crows’ hooked-stick tools. doi: 10.1007/s10071-023-01749-2.

Hunt GR et al. The crafting of hook tools by wild New Caledonian crows. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2003.0085.

Hunt GR et al. Parallel tool industries in New Caledonian crows. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0603.

Hunt, G et al. (2016). A complex adaptive system may be essential for cumulative modifications in tool design. 10.2502/janip.66.2.2.

Jelbert SA et al. New Caledonian crows rapidly solve a collaborative problem without cooperative cognition. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133253.

Jelbert SA et al. Using the Aesop’s fable paradigm to investigate causal understanding of water displacement by New Caledonian crows. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092895.

Klump, BC. et al. Hook tool manufacture in New Caledonian crows: behavioural variation and the influence of raw materials. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-015-0204-7

Mack C et al. Modulation of behavioural laterality in wild New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides): Vocalization, age and function. doi: 10.1080/1357650X.2022.2098969.

McCoy, D.E. et al. New Caledonian Crows Behave Optimistically after Using Tools, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.080.

Müller, J.J.A. et al. Ravens remember the nature of a single reciprocal interaction sequence over 2 days and even after a month, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.04.004.

Rutz C et al. The evolutionary origins and ecological context of tool use in New Caledonian crows. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.11.005.

St Clair JJ, Rutz C. New Caledonian crows attend to multiple functional properties of complex tools. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0415.

Swift, Kaeli et al. (2018). Occurrence and variability of tactile interactions between wild American crows and dead conspecifics. 10.1098/rstb.2017.0259.

Swift, K.N. et al, Wild American crows gather around their dead to learn about danger, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.08.021.

Troscianko, J. Et al. Activity profiles and hook-tool use of New Caledonian crows recorded by bird-borne video cameras. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0777

Troscianko, J. et al. Extreme binocular vision and a straight bill facilitate tool use in New Caledonian crows. Nat Commun 3, 1110 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2111

Uomini N, et al. Extended parenting and the evolution of cognition. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0495.

Weir, Alex et al. (2002). Shaping of Hooks in New Caledonian Crows. 10.1126/science.1073433.

Weir, A.A.S., et al. A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) creatively re-designs tools by bending or unbending aluminium strips. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-006-0052-5

Wimpenny JH et al. Cognitive processes associated with sequential tool use in New Caledonian crows. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006471.

Written by Ze Frank