Corvids and Their Intelligence

In short: The crow family, or corvids, includes ravens, crows, jackdaws, magpies and jays, among others. They are among the cleverest animals of all and solve tasks in experiments that were long thought possible only for great apes.

In more detail: Their brain is large in relation to body size and packed particularly densely with nerve cells. Although bird and mammal brains are built differently, similar mental abilities have developed independently in corvids and primates.

In detail

• The crow family: Corvids are a family of songbirds found worldwide; the common raven is its largest member in Europe (voegel-und-vogelzug).
• A dense brain: The forebrain of corvids contains a very large number of nerve cells in a small space, which is considered one basis of their thinking abilities.
• Tool use: New Caledonian crows shape tools such as hooks from twigs and leaves and use them to fish insect larvae out of crevices.
• Problem solving: In experiments, corvids combine several steps to get at food, and some apparently plan for the future while doing so.
• Remembering hiding places: In autumn, jays hide large numbers of acorns and later find many of them again; forgotten acorns sprout and so help oaks to spread (wald-aufbau-und-bedeutung).
• Recognising faces: Crows can recognise individual people and remember who has posed a threat to them.
• Social life: Many corvids live in stable pairs or groups, watch their fellows closely and adapt their behaviour depending on who is watching.
• Play: Young ravens and crows play strikingly often, for example with objects or in flight, which probably helps them learn.
• Independent development: The fact that corvids, great apes and also octopuses have each developed their own forms of intelligence is an example of convergent evolution (konvergente-evolution, kraken-und-ihre-intelligenz).