Wild Gorillas using Tools

I’ve seen footage of herons taking bread from people, who were feeding the birds at this particular lake. Then rather than eat the bread the heron stands in the shallows of the lake and throws little bits of the bread in front of it, just in the slightly deeper waters. This bread looks like a tasty meal for the fish who approach the bead and get taken by the heron.Apparently It's not an isolated thing as the footage I linked to is of a different bird (and breed)Neat

Both here (Sitka) and in Juneau it is common to see ravens flying into the backdraft of large trucks on the road. When I first saw it I thought they had been hit, but soon noticed that they were perfectly healthy afterwards and then saw that they would dive at top of the truck as it was passing then be blown backwards. I have also seen them sled upside-down on snow covered roofs, then fly back to the peak of the roof to do it again.I apologize for continuing the off-topic post, but find this fascinating. Another interesting raven observation I have made is that they, unlike our other corvids, seem to never fully adapt to humans. Wrong terminology perhaps. NW Crows, Steller's jays, and magpies seem to quickly learn to take food from people (I am thinking of McDonald's parking lots). Ravens always maintain a good 3 meter distance and are always wary. I don't know what this means, but is interesting. You can hand feed the others at McDonald's, but have to toss far for the ravens.

Our magpies (black and white bird the size of a crow) tend to rule the roost in the avian world. And not just other birds. I got in the habit of putting a food tray for maggies out on my back landing after breakfast. Trouble was, if I had a late night and slept in, there would come a tap-tap-tap-----pause---tap-tap-tap at the back door to give me a hurry-up.

Just ran across this while hitting a reference in "The New Scientist". Went to the principle investigator's website; there are even movies to watch:http://users.ox.ac.uk/~kgroup/tools/cognition.shtmlIn the study, one bird actually repeatedly created a hook to retrieve a bucket of food from a vertical pipe. It's interesting. This group is doing a lot of interesting research, and I think it's clear (from reading the summaries and looking at the videos) that these birds are showing pretty robust tool use.BenThis message has been edited by Ben, Saturday, 2005/10/01 09:37 AM

It's just all "way cool" stuff. Enjoyed all the posts.

Indeed, maybe we humans are not quite so alone as we like to think.

We have been fortunate enough to observe both of these behaviors--there are nesting ravens a few miles away (in Connecticut!), and we camp often in the Adirondacks, where they are more plentiful.Unpaired corvids will also engage in display flights which are quite acrobatic and impressive. Actually, I should note two flight behaviors--the synchronized ballet of mated/courting pairs and the madcap, high-speed pursuit (with frequent reversals of roles, tag you're It) that many birds seem to enjoy, even across species.But eagles perform one of the most impressive flight behaviors we have seen (along the lower Connecticut River where the eagles congregate to fish in the hard winter months because the salt tide from Long Island Sound prevents the river from freezing).Two eagles will fly in close formation; one drifts just below the other, then abrupty barrel-rolls so that it is flying upside down. The eagles lock their talons together and spiral downward as though locked in a "death embrace"--but then safely break away, sometimes breathtakingly close to the ground: are these eagles playing chicken? This past winter we saw a practical application of that play/behavior. An eagle was being harassed by a smaller, quicker redtail hawk, who would fly above the eagle and then pounce on its back. Suddenly, the eagle barrel-rolled and seized one of the hawk's feet--the hawk managed to break free, but I suspect it was many days before the hawk again thought to annoy an eagle in that fashion.Another raven bit: several native American cultures claim that the raven has a long history of leading hunters to game, and then profit by scavenging the remains. There are similar reports of ravens leading wolves to prey. That is my intuitive impression--hell, I'd do it.At first, like jar, I put Bird Surfing in the category of flying saucers, as per singer John Prine:Now I ain't seen no saucers
'cept the ones upon the shelf,
And if I ever saw one,
I'd keep it to myself.(from "Linda Goes to Mars")In fact, when the notion first occurred to me, I laughed out loud. Then I noted that the birds were engaging in this behavior repeatedly in particular locations that shared certain characteristics--long straightaway roadsides clear of high embankments, close-crowding trees/power lines, etc.Furthermore, the birds were not flying from one perch to another and just incidentally crossing the road, but rather diving at high speed then veering into the road and intersecting the path of an oncoming vehicle (in my observations to date, always a car or small truck--they do not seem to engage large trucks or buses). Their paths seem timed to skim above the car at midpoint or so, right where one might expect a large air "breaker"...I may have to try for video.

... afterall, Raven Dreamed the World.

---

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Corvids, of course.The oak/hickory wood behind our house is flush with several woodpecker species; we feed them throughout the year. If we neglect to refill the feeder, they land on the window frame and alternate pecking on the glass and cocking their heads to peer in with one eye. Of course, we hop to it.

...and stole back the Sun from the Sky Chief (which is how he got so sooty black)...

I'm envious--I haven't seen ravens surf. But I'm not surprised that they would take on the big trucks, which I haven't seen other birds do.

Ranging far afield (in the proud traditions of EvC), cleaner fish are a delight to watch. They pick a favourite rock and the customers (usually out-weighing them 100 to one)actually queque up for service. Prey behavior goes on hold as they open mouths and flare gills for inspection. If a customer leaves before the cleaning gang are satisfied, he/she is chased and herded back to the cleaning station. Many a time I nearly drowned myself laughing as I sat, snorkel in mouth, at the antics of these servicemen.Does they emit pheromones to tell the neighbourhood the station is open?

Now, if you hear one say "nevermore" ....

Okay, I'm going to veer radically on-topic here.Just read this in the October/November issue of National Wildlife: how human can they get, ladies?

The boy chimps are just holding out for power tools.