Study suggests ravens are great at planning ahead

(Image credit: iStock)

last updated 13 July 2017

Scientists have long thought that only humans and apes were capable of planning ahead, but a study published Thursday in the journal Science suggests ravens can too. In fact, under some circumstances the birds displayed greater skill than 4-year-old children or chimpanzees at anticipating their future needs based on previous experiences.

Researchers tested ravens' planning abilities on a farm in Sweden. A zoologist taught five ravens he'd raised from hatchlings how to use a tool to open up a box that held a treat. He then presented the ravens with a test:

The next day, without the box present, the birds were offered a choice between the stone tool and "distracter" objects — toys too light or bulky to use as tools. The box would then be brought back 15 minutes after the selection. Despite the delay, the ravens chose the correct tool nearly 80 percent of the time, and successfully used the tools they selected 86 percent of the time.The birds performed almost as well when they had to give an experimenter a bottle cap in exchange for a piece of food. The birds almost always selected the bottle cap over distracters, even though they would have to wait 15 minutes to barter with it. The preference for soon-to-be-useful items persisted when the ravens had to pass up a smaller treat in favor of either the tool or the bartering token — and even when they could use each item only after a 17-hour delay. [Scientific American]

The research raises the question of how bird-brained these birds really are, and also challenges scientists' conceptions of the evolution of intelligence. "It shows yet again how smart corvid songbirds can be even if they have a very different organization of their brains compared to primates and us humans," Andreas Nieder, a neuroscientist who was not involved in the study, told Gizmodo. "This is a fascinating case of so-called convergent evolution: similar intelligent behavior, but based on very different brain structures."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox