Puffins have learned to use tools, and I for one welcome our new avian overlords
SalonCrows are intimidating birds — not merely for their menacing stare, but because they are famously intelligent. “More broadly, our findings provide evidence of true tool use in a seabird,” the study states. “This suggests tool use is rare in this group, but can no longer be considered absent.” The evidence was recorded with a camera, the video from which can be viewed within the published study. The authors note that the evolution of tool use “is one of the most enduring puzzles in behavioral biology.” “Investigating the distribution of tool use across taxa is key to understanding its adaptive value and hence its evolution in the natural world, and ultimately to understanding the evolutionary history of our own species,” the authors state. “Ultimately, we don’t know what effect the changes in blood calcium or other components means for the birds, which might seem quite surprising,” Alex Bond, senior curator of birds at the Natural History Museum, explained to Salon in an email in August.
History of this topic
Plastic ingested by seabirds ‘could release toxic chemicals in their stomach’, scientists say
The Independent
Rare video shows puffin using stick as a tool - to scratch an itch
The Independent
Plastic debris is altering the blood composition of seabirds
Salon
Balloons pose biggest risk of death for seabirds eating plastic, scientists say
The IndependentDiscover Related
)
)
)
)
)
