Of all the birds out there, I think crows and magpies (and that whole family of corvids) are exactly the ones that I would expect this from. They have just the right amount of intelligence and...
Of all the birds out there, I think crows and magpies (and that whole family of corvids) are exactly the ones that I would expect this from. They have just the right amount of intelligence and mischief to do stuff like this. I could see parrots pulling this off, but they're lacking some of that 'fuck-you' energy that crows and magpies have in spades.
Kea absolutely are as smart as crows. I'm not just saying this out of patriotic fervour, there is a bird intelligence lab here that studies both crows and kea....
Kea absolutely are as smart as crows. I'm not just saying this out of patriotic fervour, there is a bird intelligence lab here that studies both crows and kea.
They do it for fun. The kea who hang out in car parks vandalising cars tend to be juvenile males. It is thought that they do it because due to human habitation they are pretty well fed and have...
They do it for fun.
The kea who hang out in car parks vandalising cars tend to be juvenile males.
It is thought that they do it because due to human habitation they are pretty well fed and have time to spare. Kea will come up and try to untie your shoelaces. They don't think you are "food" they just think untying laces is funny.
Edit: my info was incorrect, thank you for the better info.
They know that tourists leave food in their cars, and they're pulling at the car trying to get in. In NZ a lot of niches that mammals fill elsewhere are filled by birds. Think of keas as the tiny equivalent to a North American brown bear.
Edit: my info was incorrect, thank you for the better info.
Wow that's pretty cool! Thanks for sharing! Will definitely add them to my list of birds not to mess with. Not that I mess with birds or anything, but if I did, it wouldn't be with them.
Wow that's pretty cool! Thanks for sharing!
Will definitely add them to my list of birds not to mess with. Not that I mess with birds or anything, but if I did, it wouldn't be with them.
"But brother, are we not birds?" Existential dread Seriously though, corvids are known to be exceptionally smart. I wonder to what extent they develop their own philosophical beliefs?
"But brother, are we not birds?"
Existential dread
Seriously though, corvids are known to be exceptionally smart. I wonder to what extent they develop their own philosophical beliefs?
Somehow I'm not surprised. Birds using man made materials never struck me as odd. I don't think they'd necessarily differentiate between "natural" and "unnatural", they just use whatever materials...
Somehow I'm not surprised. Birds using man made materials never struck me as odd. I don't think they'd necessarily differentiate between "natural" and "unnatural", they just use whatever materials are available.
The most surprising part to me is that they picked them up while still attached to the strips. I figured from the title they'd take one spike at a time somehow. I suppose it'd take a corvid to figure out how to pick them up and carry them without being stabbed!
Of all the birds out there, I think crows and magpies (and that whole family of corvids) are exactly the ones that I would expect this from. They have just the right amount of intelligence and mischief to do stuff like this. I could see parrots pulling this off, but they're lacking some of that 'fuck-you' energy that crows and magpies have in spades.
Kea (a parrot native to New Zealand) will strip the rubber gaskets off of car windows. I think parrots aren't as smart, but they're definitely ornery.
Kea absolutely are as smart as crows. I'm not just saying this out of patriotic fervour, there is a bird intelligence lab here that studies both crows and kea.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020231
Hmmm interesting. Do they do something with the rubber gaskets? Or do they just strip them off for fun?
They do it for fun.
The kea who hang out in car parks vandalising cars tend to be juvenile males.
It is thought that they do it because due to human habitation they are pretty well fed and have time to spare. Kea will come up and try to untie your shoelaces. They don't think you are "food" they just think untying laces is funny.
When land transport authority was building the Milford tunnel, Kea were caught blocking off traffic with road cones. The construction workers eventually constructed a kea gym/playground for them to keep them occupied.
They know that tourists leave food in their cars, and they're pulling at the car trying to get in. In NZ a lot of niches that mammals fill elsewhere are filled by birds. Think of keas as the tiny equivalent to a North American brown bear.Edit: my info was incorrect, thank you for the better info.
Wow that's pretty cool! Thanks for sharing!
Will definitely add them to my list of birds not to mess with. Not that I mess with birds or anything, but if I did, it wouldn't be with them.
With all due respect no, they are absolutely doing it for fun. It's the well fed kea that come down and mess with humans.
"But brother, are we not birds?"
Existential dread
Seriously though, corvids are known to be exceptionally smart. I wonder to what extent they develop their own philosophical beliefs?
They pass down lore across generations ( the rubber mask experiment) so it seems likely to me that they have a belief system.
Somehow I'm not surprised. Birds using man made materials never struck me as odd. I don't think they'd necessarily differentiate between "natural" and "unnatural", they just use whatever materials are available.
The most surprising part to me is that they picked them up while still attached to the strips. I figured from the title they'd take one spike at a time somehow. I suppose it'd take a corvid to figure out how to pick them up and carry them without being stabbed!
That article was not what I expected. I thought they were building nests where the spikes are laid. This is much better!
Me too, I was so happy to see this!
They do this in my building. They fill the spikes in first with poop, then nest on top of it. I’m not sure why exactly, but they keep coming back.
Take that, humans!