Raven fact of the day! A bit long but still:
Ravens are considered the most intelligent birds, displaying high learning ability and use of logic for solving problems, in some tests bypassing the chimpanzees. In one experiment, a raven had to reach a piece of meat dangling from strings bound to perches. To get to the food, a raven had to follow a series of actions: pull up a string stretch, hold a loop of it on the perch with a claw, then pull up another stretch and hold that loop. The birds had to repeat the action 6 times till getting the meat, while even after 30 trial crows did not succeed.
Ravens could perform this complex sequence of actions straight away and they have never seen string before or encountered meat hanging this way. These birds pass very well complex tests, including "no tests" or "trial and error" ones that involve logic.
Ravens put other animals to do tasks for them. Their beak cannot open tough skins of the carcasses, that's why when they encounter a big corpse, they make calls that attract wolves and foxes to the site and the large carnivores can break the carcass to expose the meat for the birds.
The raven's developed intelligence is connected to their complex social lives and scavenging lifestyles. The birds must find out very rapidly how to locate themselves far enough from a wolf or fox not to be exposed to an attack when sharing a dead animal but close enough to get food.
Ravens have been even taught to count.
Due to exams this'll probably be the last raven fact for a few weeks.
However, Enjoy!
Caw! Caw!
