Researchershave documentedwild crow creating and using hooked dick . While experiments in controlled configurations have shown that New Caledonian crows , widely considered as one of the most sound metal money of bird , can fashion peter with hooks to reach food , no one had antecedently recorded this in the field . Using tiny video cameras attached to the snort , scientists were able to capture the accurate minute that some of the Crow made the implements , giving them insight into how the bird use such tools in the state of nature .
New Caledonian bragging are well - recognize for their advanced use of tools . legion experiments have shown how the birds can apply their bills to whittle twigs and leaves to make tool that allow them to extract food , such as grubs and insects , from hard - to - get through place . Not only that , but they ’ve also been demo to exhibit “ meta - pecker ” use , in which they use one creature to retrieve another , which they then use to get the food , and to also use twigs to inquire andprod somethingthey’re unsure of . But getting evidence of this in the wild has always been slick .
New Caledonian brag are notable for their problem - resolve skill , such as the one show here certify one of Aesop ’s fables . PLOS Media / YouTube
“ New Caledonian crows are notoriously difficult to observe,”explainsDr . Jolyon Troscianko , who coauthored the study , “ not just because of the challenging terrain of their tropical habitats , but also because they can be quite sensitive to perturbation . By document their engrossing behavior with this new camera technology , we receive valuable perceptivity into the grandness of tool in their daily search for nutrient . ”
The researchers stick the tiny cameras to the razz ’ tails , and designed them so that they would shake off off after a few day of recording , allowing the team to retrieve them and watch the bird ’ behavior . They did this to a total of 19 soul , and recorded over 10 hours ’ worth of footage . During this time period , they film two instances of the crows crafting hooked cock in the wilderness . They then used these to extract grubs from chap in trees , and to search through leaf bedding material on the story .
The cameras also gave the researcher further insight into the dame ’ shaft - using behaviour . “ In one setting , a crow deteriorate its tool , and then recovers it from the ground shortly afterward , suggesting they value their tools and do n’t simply discard them after a single use,”saysDr . Christian Rutz , another of the writer of the study published inBiology Letters . In fact , they even observed the crows storing the tools in tree jam , to keep them good so they can use them again by and by on .
