5 of the most intelligent birds, according to scientists

What is mind, scientists have not yet agreed. This concept is too extensive: it includes and the ability to realize themselves as a separate personality, and social skills, and the ability to solve precipitated logical tasks, and curiosity, that is, thirst to receive new information and experiment. That is why it is so difficult to assess the level of intelligence of a living being. But attempts are made.

In 2005, the Canadian biologist Louis Lefevev offered Bird IQ Test Takes Flight / Sciencedaily to determine the IQ birds according to the degree of ingenuity that they show when mining food. Lefevere studied hundreds of scientific publications in world ornithological journals and based on them called the most helicast feathered. The largest "intellectuals" in terms of food searches, turned out to be crows, falcons, hawks, woodwoods and herons.

However, Lefevre himself made a remark of Crows and Jays Top Bird IQ Scale / BBC News: The rating compiled by him says not so much about the extent to which the concrete feathers are smart, how much about their "innovation", that is, the ability to find non-standard solutions.

If we talk about different types of intellectual activity, and not just about ingenuity in search of food like Lefevre, the rating of the most intelligent birds can be different.

Research of ornithologists confirm that the mental abilities feathers much closer to man than we are used to thinking. And some "clever" possess so outstanding cognitive skills, which are superior to primates, small children and even adults.

1. Crows

There is reason to assume that these feathers can be one of the smartest animals on Earth.

They know how to H. M. Ditz, A. Nieder. Neurons Selective To the Corvid Songbird Endbrain / Pnas Read up to five. Use tools, such as chopsticks to pick up insects from drunk stumps. Create A. M. P. Von Bayern, s. Danel, A. M. I. Auerspert et al. Compound Tool Construction By New Caledonian Crows / Scientific Reports Comfortable tools – Build the length of the same stick to get too far lying piece. See how it looks.

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Raven’s ability impressed scientists because it was previously thought that only people and human monkeys are capable of inventing multi-storey tools.

And these feathers know how. A. Jelbert, A. H. Taylor, L. G. Cheke et al. Using the Aesop’s Fable Paradigm to Investigate Causal Understanding of Water Displacement by New Caledonian Crows / Plos One to establish causal relations no worse than 7-year-old children. And in general, it seems, studying us, Homo Sapiens, with no less interesting than we. At least K. N.SWIFTJOHN, M. Marzluff. Wild American Crows Gather Around Their Dead to Learn About Danger / Animal Behaviour, that raven has excellent memory to face and they are able to be angry with concrete people.

2. Soroki

These birds belong to the same family of vanisy as crows (as well as Coyki, Galka, Graci). Zoologists consider intellectuals of the vanes in general, just a crows today are more studied. But other representatives of the family demonstrate rationality.

For example, European Soroki easily pass the so-called mirror test, that is, recognize H. Prior, A. Schwarz, O. Güntürkün. Mirror-Indduced Behavior In The Magpie (Pica Pica): Evidence of Self-Recognition / Plos Biology itself in the mirror. This is an extremely difficult skill, which suggests that a living being is able to separate itself from the world, aware of themselves as a person.

Children begin Whos Baby in the Mirror? / Psychology Today successfully passes a mirror test aged no earlier than 18 months.

It is curious that psychologists associate this skill with the development of complex self-conscious emotions: sympathy, feelings of guilt, embarrassment, shame, pride. Whether something like that of Soroki and other representatives of the family of the Vrani are felt? Perhaps. But while science has no accurate answer.

3. African gray parrots

According to the generally accepted stereotype, the ass – a fool. Such a dubious image of birds deserved in that they know how to mechanically repeat human speech, which they do not understand. And it gives rise to dissonance. On the one hand, the parrot can talk – as smart! And on the other – well, obviously that the fool!

However, not all of the parrot family – fools. Take at least inconspicuous at first glance of the gray African parrot (Jaco).

In their small, size with walnut brains a lot happens. And Jaco live so long that you can accumulate a lot of information and memories Why Ravens and Crows Are Earth’s Smartest Birds / National Geographic .

In the 1950s Harvard psychologist, an expert in the field of animal communication and man Irene Pepperberg began teaching Jaco Alexa Speech. She chose not quite the usual method: two people were engaged in training at once who played different roles. The first – "Teacher": he spent lessons for a parrot and for the second person – "Student". "Student" performed by the role-playing model for Jaco’s answers and was a kind of opponent for Alex (yes, Parrots have a competitive spirit). This method of learning Pereperberg called the triangle method.

Permanent contact with people and the desire to exceed the opponent gave an amazing result. Before his death in 2007, Alex freely addressed about a hundred words, could have been foreseen and express relevant desires. For example, I am quite meaningfully spoken by Irene’s gathering: "Stay, do not go". He even caught the meaning of the concepts of "the same" and "different", accurately nameing the signs that similar items differ (put, red and blue balls).

Today, Dr. Pepperberg is engaged with another Jaco – Griffin The Parrot Knows Shapes / Harvard Gazette . It is already able to recognize colors, correctly denote two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects (circle, square, parallelepiped) and approaches the understanding of the concept of "zero".

4. Cockatoo

These crown beauties, like crows, are able to create "tools of labor". For example, taking a piece of cardboard in the beak, heating the pebbles in search of food. Or make out of chopsticks and raised vegetable boxes with seeds peculiar drums, on which they show a love song for female. It is curious that every male has its own recognizable rhythm and even a melody.

In addition, Cockada – Talented Dancers. They feel great paced, rhythm and know how to coordinate movements with increasing volume and tone of music.

See how the kakada is dancing by the name of the snow. Experts of the National Geographic magazine believe that he does it even better than many people.

5. Pigeons

These chubby and unwinding urban birds are considered stupid. And in vain. Pigeons show a lot of intelligent abilities of The Surprising Neuroscience of Pigeon Intelligence / Psychology Today:

• Know how to recognize words and distinguish them from meaningless combinations of sounds and letters.
• They consider to nine. This result is even cooler than recognized "intellectuals" – raven and many primates.
• Have a stunning memory. Pigeons are able to remember 725 random black and white images – this task is not for the forces most people.
• Can recognize and distinguish areas in art. For example, the paintings of Picasso from the paintings of Monet are distinguished correctly.

So the next time, accelerating the clumsy pigeons confused under your feet, think about: perhaps, it is much more subtle and intellectual nature than most of the two-legs surrounding.