Using tools in the animal realm is a rare ability , something that only a few coinage have been able to demonstrate . It now seems that another hoot is set to join this blue-ribbon few , as the Hawaiian Corvus ( Corvus hawaiiensis)has been elevatedto the single class of pecker user . Yet with only 130 of the corvids surviving , the hiss are perilously near to being lose incessantly .
The Hawaiian crow , known topically as the ' alal ? , now joins the New Caledonian brag in a crack radical of expert putz users . Before the discovery of the Hawaiian shuttlecock ’ prowess with twigs , however , ithad long puzzled researchersas to why – despite there being over 40 coinage of vaporing and ravens worldwide – the birds restrain to the distant island of New Caledonia were the only ones known to be able to manipulate and make tools to get at heavy - to - accomplish food . One researcher started to suspect that they might not be alone .
“ We had previously notice that New Caledonian crows have unusually consecutive bills , and inquire whether this may be an adaptation for holding tools , similar to humans ' opposable thumb,”explainsDr Christian Rutz , who co - authored the bailiwick published inNature . After reckon through all other species of corvids , the investigator cursorily turned their attention to the New Caledonian ’s Hawaiian brethren , which also have a curiously straight bill . Yet there was a snap : the birds are out in the state of nature .
At the meter that the researchers were able-bodied to conduct experimentation to test the ingenuity of the Polynesian birds , there were just 109 individuals surviving , most of which were to be found in San Diego in a breeding broadcast . This allowed the scientists to do something unprecedented , offering them the opportunity to screen almost an intact species on their power to craft tools .
And what they found impressed them . Of the 104 wench essay ( five were leave off for “ wellness reason ” ) , 78 percent of them spontaneously used instrument when presented with a challenge that required them to expend a stick to distill food from a log .
“ Using dick make out by nature to ' alal ? . These bird had no specific education prior to our study , yet most of them were incredibly skilled at palm stick putz , and even fleetly extracted bait from demanding tasks,”saysDr Rutz . “ In many regard , the ' alal ? is very similar to the New Caledonian Corvus , which my team has been take for over 10 years . ” They find that the birds would take a stick , change it with their beaks , and then use it for the labor in manus .
They also found that while only 78 percent of the razz were successful , this was mainly skew by age conflict . The adult were far salutary at crafting peter than the youngsters , with 93 pct of the old ' alal ? capable to solve the teaser , though that still left some of the birds scratching their heads at the solid food enigma .
The discovery of a second species of implement - wielding corvid is an important find . It may ultimately help scientist undertake the question of what it is precisely that labor the birds to be able to do so , withthe research worker thinkingthat the fact both coinage live on islands may be more than conjunction , suggest that perhaps their isolated existence somehow favors this unusual doings .
The crows were able to use and alter twigs to get at small-arm of meat in holes . Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Global
