Crows Create Hooks for Hunting

Birds have traditionally been regarded as clever creatures, if only because many of them are skilled mimics. One bird's greeting or scolding of you is all it takes to recognize that birds possess abilities that most other animals do not. A budgie by the name of Puck once held the record for having the largest vocabulary ever—1,728 words—which may be more than some people. And of all the abilities birds possess, that ranks last.

Crows, which are also talkers, have shown the ability to make tools quite effectively, which aids them in problem-solving and hunting. Crows have been tested with moderately challenging issues and given the task of opening boxes to obtain food. The impressive amount of steps a crow may take to accomplish a task has been captured on film to demonstrate how effortlessly they can complete it. In one test, a crow had to figure out eight different riddles in a sequence to succeed, which he did in a matter of minutes.

Crows have shown their own problem-solving through the creation of tools, even without the aid of artificial puzzles with predetermined solutions. It turns out that crows are familiar with the basic functions of tools like hooks and rakes. They can build their own and use them to dig up insects that their beaks couldn't otherwise reach. To prevent the bugs they hunt from slipping off again, the hooks even feature barbed tips like a fishing hook.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Corvus
Species: C. brachyrhynchos