Re: Bird brains

[Amado Narvaez <anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu>]

On Thu, 22 Jun 1995 VanKathy@aol.com wrote:
> 
> One more example of the intelligence of crows (or perhaps ravens -- it was
> many years ago when I read this) involves an experiment somewhat similar to
> what M. Rowe described.  A bird was placed in an area where the only water
> available was in a tube so narrow that only the bird's beak could fit inside.
>  Furthermore, the water level was set so that it lay just beyond the bird's
> reach.  In a brilliant solution that probably is beyond many human's problem
> solving abilities, the bird dropped pebbles into the water until the water
> was displaced enough for it to reach!

Are you sure you're not remembering one of Aesop's Fables ("The Crow and 
the Pitcher"--available in many Internet reading rooms) rather than a 
genuine experiment? 

But speaking of birds, dinosaurs and intelligence... Granted that 
Velociraptor was not nearly as intelligent as Jurassic Park leads us to 
believe... is there a consensus that today's birds are "smarter" than any 
of their Mesozoic ancestors?


----- Amado Narvaez
      anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu