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Author Hunt, G.R.; Rutledge, R.B.; Gray, R.D. doi  openurl
  Title The right tool for the job: what strategies do wild New Caledonian crows use? Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 307-316  
  Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Comprehension; *Crows; Female; *Intelligence; Male; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior  
  Abstract New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides (NC crows) display sophisticated tool manufacture in the wild, but the cognitive strategy underlying these skills is poorly understood. Here, we investigate what strategy two free-living NC crows used in response to a tool-length task. The crows manufactured tools to extract food from vertical holes of different depths. The first tools they made in visits were of a similar length regardless of the hole depth. The typical length was usually too short to extract food from the deep holes, which ruled out a strategy of immediate causal inference on the first attempt in a trial. When the first tool failed, the crows made second tools significantly longer than the unsuccessful first tools. There was no evidence that the crows made the lengths of first tools to directly match hole depth. We argue that NC crows may generally use a two-stage heuristic strategy to solve tool problems and that performance on the first attempt in a trial is not necessarily the 'gold standard' for assessing folk physics.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. grhunt10@hotmail.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16941156 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2442  
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Author Range, F.; Bugnyar, T.; Schlogl, C.; Kotrschal, K. doi  openurl
  Title Individual and sex differences in learning abilities of ravens Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.  
  Volume 73 Issue 1 Pages 100-106  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Crows; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Female; *Individuality; Male; Sex Factors; Spatial Behavior  
  Abstract Behavioral and physiological characteristics of individuals within the same species have been found to be stable across time and contexts. In this study, we investigated individual differences in learning abilities and object and social manipulation to test for consistency within individuals across different tasks. Individual ravens (Corvus corax) were tested in simple color and position discrimination tasks to establish their learning abilities. We found that males were significantly better in the acquisition of the first discrimination task and the object manipulation task, but not in any of the other tasks. Furthermore, faster learners engaged less often in manipulations of conspecifics and exploration of objects to get access to food. No relationship between object and social manipulation and reversal training were found. Our results suggest that individual differences in regard to the acquisition of new tasks may be related to personalities or at least object manipulation in ravens.  
  Address Konrad Lorenz Research Station, A-4645 Gruenau 11, Austria. friederike.range@univie.ac.at  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16675158 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4146  
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Author Straub, A. doi  openurl
  Title An intelligent crow beats a lab Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science  
  Volume 316 Issue 5825 Pages 688  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; *Crows; Dogs; Intelligence; Memory  
  Abstract  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1095-9203 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17478698 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4102  
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Author Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A. doi  openurl
  Title A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) creatively re-designs tools by bending or unbending aluminium strips Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 317-334  
  Keywords Animals; *Comprehension; *Crows; Female; Learning; *Motor Skills; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior  
  Abstract Previous observations of a New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) spontaneously bending wire and using it as a hook [Weir et al. (2002) Science 297:981] have prompted questions about the extent to which these animals 'understand' the physical causality involved in how hooks work and how to make them. To approach this issue we examine how the same subject (“Betty”) performed in three experiments with novel material, which needed to be either bent or unbent in order to function to retrieve food. These tasks exclude the possibility of success by repetition of patterns of movement similar to those employed before. Betty quickly developed novel techniques to bend the material, and appropriately modified it on four of five trials when unbending was required. She did not mechanically apply a previously learned set of movements to the new situations, and instead sought new solutions to each problem. However, the details of her behaviour preclude concluding definitely that she understood and planned her actions: in some cases she probed with the unmodified tools before modifying them, or attempted to use the unmodified (unsuitable) end of the tool after modification. Gauging New Caledonian crows' level of understanding is not yet possible, but the observed behaviour is consistent with a partial understanding of physical tasks at a level that exceeds that previously attained by any other non-human subject, including apes.  
  Address Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. alex.weir@magdalen.oxon.org  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17024509 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2436  
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